Solo Plus One
by Enya-Shay
Summary: Set in an alternate universe where Ben Solo decides to follow in his father Han's footsteps and become a smooth-talking criminal, rather than a Jedi like his mother and Luke wanted for him. When the galaxy faces a new threat, padawan learner Rey must team up with the savvy Ben Solo to help bring peace once again. Pairing is Reylo, no hate please!
1. Chapter 1

"Are you ready, Ben?"

"Yes, papa."

"Are you sure? Because if you're too scared, I can turn the Falcon around and—"

"Dad!"

"Alright then. Chewie, let's do this!"

Ben Solo's heart began to race as his father and Uncle Chewie activated the hyperdrive and sent the Millenium Falcon flying forward at light speed. The familiar feeling that his stomach had been left behind at their previous location came over him, and he loved it. Ben was sure he would never get tired of the exhilaration brought on by how fast they were flying. And then, in almost no time at all, they were there.

"Remember, don't tell your mom about this," Han Solo reminded his son. "She'd kill me if she knew I was taking you on a job."

Ben nodded in understanding. "I promise. Can I come on board this time when you make the deal?"

"Sure, kiddo. Just stick close to me and Chewie, and whatever you do don't touch or say anything."

Han lowered the Falcon onto the dock of a large ship they were picking up the goods to be smuggled on. Ben craned his neck in the seat Han had added between the pilot seats for him to watch out the window as they docked. He liked seeing the interiors of the various ships his father did deals with. Han had been bringing Ben along for a few years now, ever since Leia went back to leading the Resistance against new threats that were rising. It was easier to take his son along rather than leave him with Leia. Ben had more fun observing his father's work than his mother's.

As they were disembarking from the ship, Chewie growled gently to Ben. The little boy grinned.

"Yes, please!" he replied happily, reaching up his arms to his uncle. The wookie bent down and picked Ben up, placing him atop his shoulders.

Han winced. "Be careful with him up there, Chewie," he reprimanded. "Some of these ceilings can be really low, and I don't want his head getting bonked."

Chewie responded that he would be careful. The trio made their way out of the hangar so they could meet with their clients. Ben rested his head on top of Chewie's soft fur and kicked his legs happily. This was his first time getting to witness his father at work, so he was very excited by it.

They entered the main room of the ship where Han was greeted warmly by a very fat, many-eyed blue alien.

"Good to see you again in one piece, Solo!" the alien boomed as he shook his hand. "I was afraid that after the Arithian job you'd finally been done in."

"Nah, they let me off with a warning," said Han. "Last time I'm doing business with Arnol though. Bastard sent me into a death trap."

The blue alien chuckled then turned his many eyes to Chewie and Ben. "Glad to see you again as well, Chewbacca. And who's this up here now? You're a new face, to be sure."

"That's my son, Ben," Han interjected. "I take him around with me while his mother works."

"I didn't know you became a father," the alien mused. "Good on you, I'm sure he'll turn into a fine young man. How old are you, boy?"

Ben looked to his father, who gave him an approving nod so he replied "Six, sir."

The alien nodded. "Not a bad age to be learning his father's trade. Speaking of which, let's put a hold on the small talk so I can get these Camillan fruits onto your ship. They're perishable, so there's no time like the present."

As Ben observed the goings on from atop Chewie's shoulders, he decided that when he was grown, he wanted to be just like his father. A smooth-talking, cunning smuggler who was never afraid of anything. That's the kind of man he wanted to be. And, with any luck, that's how he would turn out.

Twenty-three years later, Ben was running from a band of angry grey and white aliens. His long legs carried him through the ship, allowing him to cut around corners without the slightest falter. There was sweat on his forehead but a grin on his face. He was loving this. Especially with the caliber of gems that were sitting comfortably in his satchel.

He had turned out just like his father, cunning and smooth, but also a criminal. Despite his mother's protests, he gallivanted through the galaxy, taking thieving and smuggling jobs wherever his could. He had made a name for himself, and not necessarily a good one. Ben didn't care though. It was everything he had wanted to be since childhood. His mother and Uncle Luke had hoped he would choose the Jedi path since he was Force-sensitive, but that life was just too simple for Ben. He had bigger dreams than the Jedi life could offer.

As he drew closer to his ship, he stopped and turned around to face his pursuers. His grin widened. This was really going to throw them off. Concentrating hard, he used his Force energy to pull the hangar doors closed right as the hoard prepared to go through them. There were several thumps and lots of loud shrieks and curses from the other side as his assailants ran head first into the doors. Ben laughed then turned and dashed up the ramp onto his ship.

His friend Hux glared at him from the co-pilot's seat as he entered the cock pit. "You told me fifteen minutes and we'd be off, Solo," he grumbled as he began flipping switches in preparation for their departure. "I could have got a decent nap in with how long it took you to get those gems."

Ben waved him off. "Better take that pole out of your ass, Hux, or I'm going to stick you on top of the ship and use you as a docking beacon."

"Oh haha, another red hair joke. You're so original." Hux had tousled red hair that Ben took every opportunity to poke fun at.

"Alright, let's get a move on," said Ben. "I think they've got the door figured out."

Hux rolled his eyes. "Sure you don't want to go invite them out for tea?"

"Somehow I don't think they would accept that invitation," his friend replied as he watched the hangar doors burst open and the grey and white aliens begin shooting at their ship. "Alright, let's get out of here before they fry us."

Ben's hands worked as though they were on autopilot. He had spent two decades learning to fly ships, and he had become an even better pilot than both his father and Luke. Which was a good skill to have when you are constantly having to bolt from a hangar before it closes on you while dodging gunfire.

But the aliens Ben and Hux were up against were called the Chambar, and they were not the brightest creatures in the galaxy. Therefore, the two young men had no difficulty getting away from them. In just minutes, they were alright into light speed heading far away from the ship they had just robbed.

"Let's see what you got then," said Hux once they had put enough distance between themselves and their victims.

Ben tossed the satchel on his friend's lap so he could look at the multi-colored gem stones that had been taken from the Chambar ship. Hux turned each gem between his fingers, in awe at the beauty of them.

"Almost a shame we have to sell them," he sighed wistfully. "They're very pretty gems."

"The rarest in all the galaxy," Ben reminded him. "Here, why don't you keep one to take home to Phasma? I'm sure she'd be thrilled by it. I'm keeping one too probably."

Hux cleared his throat. Talking about his wife always got him a little flustered. Normally he was cool and cynical, but when it came to Phasma he was head over heels. "Yes, well I might do just that."

Ben grinned. "You'd get lucky for days, giving her one of those."

His comment earned him a punch in the arm from Hux, whose ears were as red as his hair as he began griping about how Ben should mind his own business. It was all in good fun, however. The young men had been friends since their teenage years and often carried out jobs as a team. Ben had been the one to introduce Phasma and Hux, as she was the daughter of one of his father's former cohorts. The three of them still did business every now and then, but Phasma was currently staying with her ill mother on Patine. They were headed there now so that Ben could drop Hux off before taking on a smuggling job for a client they had done business with many times before.

Ben was a little jealous when his friend disembarked from the ship and embraced his wife. So far in life, he'd been unable to find a girl who complimented him in every way like Phasma did for Hux. His father had always told him not to sweat it, as sometimes it took a while for the right one to show up. Still, Ben couldn't help but feel a little impatient that whoever she was, she seemed to be taking her sweet time finding him.

Back at the newly constructed Jedi temple on Endor, a young padawan named Rey sat in the courtyard with a group of children teaching them how to meditate. They were sitting comfortably on the grass, and Rey was explaining to them how they needed to clear their minds and let the power of the Force flow through them. Some of the children giggled and cracked their eyes open during the meditation, but Rey was patient with them.

"Meditation is key to becoming the best Jedi you can," she explained. "It helps clear your mind and even sometimes have visions of future events."

"What if the future is scary though?" a little girl on her right asked.

Rey gave her a gentle smile. "Then the vision can help you be prepared for it so you won't be scared when it happens."

The little girl looked thoughtful at that. "Wow, you are very smart, Rey."

"Are you gonna be a Jedi Master soon?" one of the boys inquired.

Rey shook her head. "No, I need quite a bit more training to become a Jedi Master. But someday, I hope to be one."

"Who wants snacks?" said a familiar voice, and Rey turned to see Leia standing at the entrance to the courtyard, holding a tray of cakes.

The younglings cheered and scrambled to their feet, going immediately to Leia for the treats. Since they had been raised to be respectful, each child took only one cake and thanked Leia before returning to the grass to eat them there.

"Sorry to interrupt your meditation time," Leia apologized as Rey made her way over after the younglings were all seated.

"Not at all," said Rey, giving her a one-armed hug. "We've been at it for about half an hour now and I could tell their attention was slipping. It's a much needed break for them."

The two women began to walk around the courtyard together, chatting about recent events. Rey had always liked Leia very much and saw her almost like the mother she never knew. Luke had taken her in as a young child when her mother left her at the Jedi temple to be trained. He had raised her like his own, teaching her the ways of the Force. Rey was very strong with the Force and Luke had seen in her an enormous potential. That was why, since he was currently gone, he had left her in charge of the temple. Even though there were padawans older than herself, Luke knew Rey was the strongest and most reliable out of all of them.

"What brings you to Endor?" Rey asked Leia as they made their way out of the courtyard and through the temple building. "I thought the Resistance was having a rough time of it right now."

"We are," Leia answered gravely. "But Luke sent me a transmission that he would be back today, so I wanted to see him and ask how everything is going in the Euphorium Quadrant."

Rey was excited at this news. "He's due back today? Really?"

Leia laughed. "You seem so eager about that. I thought you would enjoy having the run of the temple for a few days."

The young padawan's cheeks reddened. "I am a little, but it's—it's a lot of work. Plus, I think Luke does a better job of it than me."

"You do a wonderful job," said Leia, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Luke has always told me all about how strong and capable you are. I think someday you'll be teaching the new Jedi along with him."

"I would like that," Rey responded, unable to stop herself from grinning with pride.

"I wish Ben had chosen to train with Luke too," Leia went on, her tone turning wistful. "He would have made a very powerful Jedi because of how strong he is with the Force."

Rey was curious to hear more about Ben. She had only met him once when she was younger. He was a tall, gangly teenager from what she remembered, but she had found him a bit handsome as well as charismatic. She had not seen him since though, and Leia did not talk about him too much due to his criminal behavior.

"Oh, Luke's arrived," Leia said suddenly before Rey could ask about how Ben was doing. Her attention turned to the window Leia was looking out, and she could see the ship docking in front of the temple.

The women made their way quickly down the stairs and back outside to greet Luke. A few other Jedi were already gathered around, waiting for their teacher to disembark from the ship. Rey was relieved that he had returned today. She was beginning to feel a bit in over her head with all the students coming to her for help and guidance. As she confided in Leia, she thought Luke was more helpful to them than herself.

Leia and Rey both froze as they neared the ship. The latter felt like a bucket of ice cold water had been thrown into her stomach. She turned to Leia, and saw that she too had a troubled look on her face.

"I felt it too," said Leia. "Something's wrong."

Sure enough, as the ramp of the ship lowered, two of the Jedi who had accompanied Luke on his journey ran down, yelling for help.

"Get the healer out here, now!" one of them called.

"Luke's been injured! He needs immediate medical care."

Rey felt her heart drop into her stomach at their words. Something terrible had happened to Luke, and from the way the two men sounded it was something that could have put his life on the line.


	2. Chapter 2

Rey tapped her foot as she waited outside the room. One tap for every beat of her heart, just as Luke taught her when she was young. She struggled with keeping her emotions and anxiety in check, so Luke had worked with her in getting through it. The foot trick was meant to be a calming method, something to keep her mind busy. At the moment though, Rey was finding that the trick did next to nothing for her.

Luke had been immediately taken into the care of the temple's healers upon his arrival at Endor. So far, they had been in the room for three hours and Rey had heard nothing. She and Leia had done their best to get the rest of the Jedi students calmed and sent back to their rooms. The temple was still shaken by their teacher's injuries despite Rey's attempts to tell them everything was fine. Despite what she told them, at the moment she could do nothing but worry about Luke's condition.

Just as Rey was beginning to think she might go mad from waiting so long, the door opened and Leia stepped out. Rey jumped to her feet immediately.

"How is he?" she asked quickly.

Leia gave her a reassuring nod. "He's fine. Suffered blows to the abdomen and shoulder but it didn't hit anything vital."

Rey could sense there was something else that Leia was holding back. "Leia, what is it?" she pressed.

"Luke's awake now," Leia responded solemnly. "He wants to speak with you. He'll—he'll tell you what's going on."

She entered the room and approached Luke's bedside. He was sitting up, but his face looked pale and his face betrayed a good deal of pain. It broke Rey's heart to see her father figure in such a state. A flicker of anger was there too, directed at whoever had given him the injuries. But she quickly corrected herself; a good Jedi was supposed to keep his or her anger in check, after all.

"Rey," Luke said hoarsely. "I'm sorry if I worried you. Allan and Cyprian made my injuries out to be worse than they actually are."

"I'd say abdominal injuries are pretty bad," Rey pointed out. "Luke, what happened to you?"

The older man sighed and with a wince motioned for her to come closer. "You might want to pull up a chair for this. I have much to tell you."

So Rey listened as Luke detailed the story behind their trip and how it had ended so poorly. His reason for visiting the Euphorium Quadrant was to check up on some rumors of a disturbance happening there. Reports had reached him about a rogue Jedi who was committing murders and attempting to recruit others to join his cause. Luke took five of his padawans to investigate and did end up finding the murderous Jedi. When they confronted him, he attacked and killed two of the padawans and injured Luke before escaping to a new, unknown location.

"He's still out there somewhere," Luke said bitterly. "He is strong with the Force, almost as strong as you Rey."

Rey's eyebrows shot up. "'Almost?' Luke, he killed two of our own and injured you. You, who's been training in the Force for nearly thirty years!"

Luke closed his eyes. "I'm not as young as I was, Rey. While my skills are still there, I can't move as fast as I used to. Also, he had the jump on us."

"What are we going to do?" she asked. "If he's as strong as you say, and gets others to join him, we don't stand a chance. The Jedi we have now aren't nearly numerous or powerful enough yet to fight."

"Have hope, my young padawan. There is still a chance that we can stop him."

Rey frowned. "What do you mean?"

Luke reached out and placed a hand over hers. "You, Rey."

There was silence in the room as Rey sat there, trying to process what he was getting at. Then it hit her and she stood up quickly. "No no no, Luke I am not ready for this."

"Yes you are," Luke insisted. "You're the most capable of all my students, Rey. I know you're ready to take on this challenge."

"But—" Rey was trying to steady her now racing mind. "I can't go up against a rogue Jedi, it's too dangerous."

Luke gave her hand a gentle squeeze. "Focus your mind, just like I taught you. In your heart, you know you can handle it."

Rey did as she was told. She took several deep breaths and focused herself. She thought about how hard she had worked over the past fifteen years. Ever since she arrived at the temple, her goal had been to get stronger. Rey wanted to be strong because she thought that's all she had. With a mother who left her and not much faith in herself, becoming a Jedi was the only thing she believed she could do with her life. It became her reason, her goal, and not much else mattered. That's why every day since Luke first taught her about the Jedi, she dedicated her time to getting stronger; to become the Jedi he assured her she could be. So maybe there was a chance she could do it after all.

"Okay," she replied finally. "I'll try."

Luke gave her a wry smile. "Do or do not," he began.

"There is no try," Rey finished, also smiling.

When Rey had left the room, Leia rounded on her brother. "What was that?" she demanded angrily, hands on her hips.

"She's ready for this, Leia, I know it," Luke defended. "You know I wouldn't encourage her to take on this mission if I didn't think she could handle it."

"She's a child," his sister argued, beginning to pace the room in distress. "You lost two padawans to this rogue, not to mention your own injuries. How is Rey supposed to stand the slightest chance against him?"

Luke turned away. "I know what I'm doing. Rey will accomplish this task; I've seen it in my visions."

Leia paused and gave him a curious look. "You've had visions of her fighting him?"

He nodded. "They're a bit blurred and unclear, but I've seen it. And I know she can win. But she won't be alone…there's someone else who needs to go with her."

"That's good then," Leia replied, and she relaxed upon hearing those words. "For a moment I thought you were going to send her off on her own."

"Not exactly. But you may not like this next part very much."

She looked at him suspiciously. "Why won't I like it?" she asked slowly.

Luke sighed. "Because…it involves your son."

Across the galaxy, Ben was just clearing the atmosphere of Tatooine. He had collected his payment for his most recent job and was now on his way to Coruscant to have a few drinks. It had been a long week for him, so he was ready to relax and maybe chat up a girl or two. Perhaps he'd finally find his "princess" as his father so often referred to it as.

There was a beeping sound, and he groaned when he saw who was trying to contact him on the transmitter. Ben brought his hand heavily down on the button to answer the call.

"Hello, Ozzy," he grumbled to the holo projection of a tall, broad-shouldered orange alien. "How are you today?"

"Solo!" the hologram screeched back in a high voice that did not match the burly creature it came out of. "Next time I see you, I'm gonna turn you into Bantha food!"

"I'm doing fine too, thanks," Ben replied airily as he steered his ship around an oncoming hunk of rock. "How're the missus and the kids?"

The image flickered as Ozzy pounded his hammy fist on something, probably the transmitter. "No, you don't get to worm your way out of this one, Solo. You were supposed to have payment delivered to me a week ago and yet here we are. This is the third time in a row and I'm not gonna put up with it anymore!"

Ben shrugged. "What can I say? I'm a busy guy. You'll get your payment soon, don't worry."

"That's what you said the last two times!" Ozzy bellowed. "Payment or no, I'm frying your ass next time you show your face around here."

"You do that," Ben challenged "but we both know you're not going to. The thing is, you're never gonna find a better smuggler in the entire galaxy than me. So wait patiently for your damn money and have a nice day!" He flicked the switch to end the call and the hologram of Ozzy disappeared. There was no call back, so either Ozzy had gotten the message or was currently plotting his murder. Either way, Ben was not concerned about it. He made a lot of people angry, but had enough charm and brains to smooth things over with them. Ozzy was no different, especially since he knew that Ben was good at what he did.

"I'm very good," Ben mused aloud to himself as he prepared to launch into light speed. "It's a wonder they haven't given me a medal or anything yet."

Suddenly all power in his ship went down at once and the red emergency light came on overhead. Ben froze, but did not panic. He used his senses to listen and get a feel for what had happened. He tried flipping a switch, but it did nothing. The only logical explanation for it was that someone's ship must have locked onto his and shut him down. It was unsurprising, as Ben had many enemies in the galaxy. So he got up from the pilot seat and drew his gun from his belt. Out the front window, he could see the ship approaching, preparing to enclose his ship in its open hangar.

"Bastards," Ben mumbled as the hangar approached. "Just when I thought today was going so well too."

He left the cockpit and made his way through the ship to the main doors where his captors were sure to enter if they were going to try and get him. Ben hunkered down in a blind spot by the door. When it opened, he would see them before they saw him, and when he did he planned to take them down. If he was outnumbered, at least he was not going to go down without a fight.

Ben waited patiently, crouched like an animal preparing to pounce upon its prey. He listened intently to the noises outside in the hangar, footsteps approaching his ship. He readied his gun. Shoot first and ask questions later, as his father always taught him.

The door opened, and a solitary figure entered. "Ben Solo, I know you're in here so hold your fire and come out right now!" the figure demanded.

Ben felt relief mixed with fear wash over him. Relief because it was not an enemy, but fear because it was his mother. And, from the way she sounded, he was not entirely sure that she would not kill him.

"Mom?" he said, tucking his gun away and approaching her. "What are you doing here?"

Leia's face crumpled when she saw him and her arms immediately reached out and pulled her son to her. It was a little awkward, as he was now nearly twice her height, but Leia didn't care. She was just happy to be holding her baby again.

"Ben, we've missed you so much," she cried into his chest.

He sighed and returned the hug, giving his mother a gentle pat on the head. "I'm okay, mom. You act like I just came out of the stomach of a Rathtar."

Leia pulled away and smiled up at him. "Sometimes it feels that way. You haven't been home in years. What's kept you?"

"Oh you know, being on the run and stealing things can keep you really tied up."

She rolled her eyes. "I still can't believe how much like your father you turned out to be. I never should have let him take you around with him on all those shady jobs he did when you were little."

"Going back to my original question though, mom what the hell are you doing here? And where'd you get a ship big enough to lock onto mine and swallow it whole?"

"Let's just say I know some people in the Resistance who lent it to me. Which is why I'm here now."

Ben turned away and headed back up towards the cock pit. "No no and no, mom. I am not getting involved in any of that Resistance stuff you're so dedicated to."

Leia huffed and followed him. "Ben Solo, for goodness' sake will you drop the attitude and listen to me for once? We need you, whether you like it or not."

"I don't like it and I also don't care," he called back over his shoulder to her. "I'm sure you can find an easy replacement for me, no problem."

"No, it has to be you on this. Trust me, Luke assured me that it has to be you."

Ben turned around to face his mother, his dark eyebrows drawn together in confusion. "Wait, Luke put you up to this? Is this a trick that'll be to get me to join the Jedi? If so, no thanks! I'm perfectly happy with my lifestyle choices up to this point."

Leia folded her arms across her chest. "I'd tell you what's going on if you'd shup up and listen for two minutes."

"Fine," he griped, plopping down onto the pilot seat and turned it around to face her. "You have my full and undivided attention for the next two minutes."

"There's a rogue Jedi last spotted in the Euphorium Quadrant. He needs to be hunted down and stopped from killing any more people than he already has. Your job will be to help Luke's padawan find him and capture him."

Ben cocked his head. "Why does it have to be me? Sounds like anyone can fly him to where he needs to go."

" _She_ needs you to take her because the rogue is clever, so if he finds out the Jedi are after him then he's not going to be as easy to capture. In other words, you need to smuggle her around the galaxy until he's located."

He felt his interest pique at this news. "Oh, it's a girl padawan? Well, that changes things up a bit. Is she pretty?"

Leia glowered at him. "Don't get any ideas. This is a serious mission."

"Too late, I already have ideas."

"Ben!"

"Alright alright, I won't do anything. I want to meet her first before I decide whether to take this job or not."

His mother sighed. "Can't you just agree to do it? For me, please?"

He groaned and ran a hand through his long dark hair. It was true, he hadn't done much for his mother in recent years. And despite his sarcastic and carefree nature, he still loved his mother dearly. Perhaps he could help her out this once. At least then she wouldn't be able to say he never did anything for her. So guilt was a little bit of a helping factor in his decision. That coupled with the fact that it was a girl he was going to be spending some quality time with on his ship. He got excited just thinking about it.

"I'll do it," he agreed. "But tell me first: This girl I'm going to be smuggling—is she pretty?"

Leia narrowed her eyes at him. "You do anything to her and I'll make you regret it," she warned.

Ben grinned. That was a yes. And, depending on how pretty she was, his mother's wrath might just be worth the risk.


	3. Chapter 3

Luke stood on a balcony overlooking the courtyard, watching Rey below as she said her good-byes to the younglings. This was taking much longer than it should have since the children had many questions about where their beloved mentor was going. Not wanting to upset the other Jedi, Luke had instructed Rey and the three padawans who had gone with him to keep the rogue Jedi a secret. There was no need to panic the others, as the threat to their Order was not imminent just yet.

A memorial service for the two fallen padawans had been held earlier that day. As far as everyone else was concerned, they had died protecting Luke from an assassin. After all, there were those in the galaxy who hated the Jedi, thinking them to be a threat to their way of life. That was another reason Luke wanted Rey to travel in secret: To keep her safe from those who felt that way.

"You're worried about her," he heard a voice behind him say. Turning, he saw Leia approaching. "And don't say you're not, because you know you can't hide things from me."

"You're right, I can't," said Luke, turning his attention back to Rey in the courtyard. "I am worried about her."

Leia stood beside him on the balcony, watching the scene below. "I know how you feel. Letting go of a child you've raised is very difficult. I felt the same way when Ben left us."

"Speaking of which, where is he?" asked Luke. "I wanted to introduce him to Rey before sending them off together. She can be shy, so I was hoping seeing him might get her more comfortable with him."

"He wanted to go visit Anakin's grave before they took off," his sister replied. "You know how he's always had a lot of respect for his grandfather."

Luke shifted uncomfortably. "I'm hoping he—you know—behaves himself around Rey."

Leia shook her head. "I can't guarantee anything. There's too much Han in him. I think Rey will set him right if he tries anything though. She's a smart girl."

"She is," Luke agreed. "And she can certainly hold her own in a fight. I suppose if we should be worried about anyone, it'd be Ben."

"I've told him to back off," she said. "But it's Ben, and you know how well he listens to me."

"I guess we'll just have to wait and see how this pans out," said Luke. "Come on, we should get down there and save her from the younglings."

Upon arrival at the temple, Ben did go across the gardens to the spot where Luke had built a grave for his father, Anakin Skywalker. There was no body, only buried ashes, but Ben still liked to go pay his respects every time he visited the temple. It had been one of his favorite spots to play as a child. Once or twice, he could have even sworn he'd seen a tall, robed young man standing beside the tombstone. This idea was not so far-fetched since Luke had taught him all about Force ghosts.

Now, as a grown man, Ben knelt in the soft earth in front of the grave with his head bowed on his chest. "Hey, grandfather," he greeted. "I know it's been a while, but I wanted to stop by and talk to you before I go. I'm taking one of Luke's students on this mission, and I have no idea what to expect. Everyone seems to think it's my destiny to go do this with her. But you see…I don't really believe in destiny. I think it's a fairy tale told to children to make them do as their parents want. All the same, I guess what I'd like to ask you for today is just your guidance. Help me get this job done and bring the girl back safely. She seems to be very important to Luke and my mom. It's funny, I feel drawn to her but I haven't even met her yet. Is that possible? I don't know. I suppose I just like the idea of being on a ship alone with her for a while. Sorry, I'll try to behave myself…maybe. Anyway, please give me your strength and guidance, grandfather. I promise I won't let you down."

After a few minutes of reverent silence, Ben got up and brushed the dirt off his trousers. He then made his way back to the temple to find his mother and Luke so he could finally meet the padawan he'd be escorting.

As he passed the other Jedis in training, Ben was grateful he didn't stick around to become one. They were all dressed in bland, boring robes that looked like they were hot and uncomfortable to wear. Ben liked his soft open shirts, jackets, and vests. All these could be removed with ease if the need arose. The Jedi robes looked like they took a few years to pull on and off.

A couple girls looked at him and giggled as they passed. Ben grinned proudly. He was lucky to inherit his family's good looks. He got the attention of both sexes no matter where he went. And of course, being a Solo he loved attention.

Ben reached the courtyard and looked around. There were a few padawans sprinkled here and there. Some were laughing while they levitated a ball back and forth to each other. A couple more were spread out, sitting cross-legged with their eyes shut in a meditation. On the far side, he could see an older girl surrounded by children who seemed to be bidding her farewell from all the hugs she was getting. Curious, Ben began to walk around the courtyard, making his way over to the girl.

As he got closer, he could hear some of the things the children were saying to her.

"Will you be gone long, Rey?"

"Are you scared?"

"Do you get to fly in the ship there?"

"Can you bring us back something nice?"

The girl, Rey, was laughing, returning hugs, and doing her best to answer all the questions being thrown at her. Ben watched, feeling a sudden warmth in his chest upon seeing her. It scared and worried him, feeling that way. He had never gotten that feeling from looking at anyone before. Yet this girl somehow awoke things in him he didn't even know he was capable of feeling. She was young and very pretty with her brown hair pulled back in a braid behind her head, dark almond-shaped eyes and an infectious smile. Even though she was also wearing the ugly Jedi robes, Ben found himself strongly attracted to her the longer he looked. He chalked it up to it just having been a while since he'd seen such a pretty girl.

"I'm going to miss you all," Rey was saying to the younglings as Ben waited for her to notice him. "Please be good for Luke and everyone while I'm gone."

As the children were called over for their lessons by an older padawan, Rey turned and finally spotted Ben leaning up against a nearby pillar. She jumped a little upon seeing him, having not heard or sensed his presence.

"I'm sorry," she apologized. "Can I help you?"

"I certainly hope so," Ben said smoothly, still taking her in. "You must be Rey, the padawan I'm going to be smuggling around the galaxy."

Rey was relieved that this stranger was no stranger after all. "Oh, Ben Solo," she concurred. "It's good to see you again."

He raised an eyebrow. "Again? You mean I've met you before?"

"I didn't think you'd remember, it was so long ago," said Rey, a small blush creeping to her cheeks. "I saw you when you last visited the temple, probably about twelve years ago. I was just a little girl at the time."

Ben tried to think back to that time. He did sort of recall a girl out in the gardens, practicing levitating flowers not far from his grandfather's grave. She was far too young at the time to catch his eye. Now that she was a grown woman though, he was sure that her face would stick with him for quite a while.

"Well it's a pleasure to officially meet you," he said, holding out his hand. When Rey gingerly placed her hand into his, he brought it to his lips and gave it a quick kiss. He smiled when her cheeks reddened even more.

Rey pulled back her hand sharply, having not expected him to kiss it. Men did not greet women in such a manner on Endor. Ben Solo was already turning out to be a strange man indeed. "Thank you for doing this for me," she went on quickly, stowing both hands behind her back and clasping them together. "I told Luke I could do it alone, but he insisted on having you escort me."

Ben tilted his head. "Are you a pilot?"

"Yes, I am," said Rey, beginning to feel more comfortable around him now that the ice had been broken. It also helped that she loved talking about her flying skills whenever she got the chance. "Luke's been giving me lessons since I was little. I can fly just about anything."

"It's a good skill to have," said Ben, nodding appreciatively at this news. "But the only one who flies my ship is me, so for this trip you're gonna have to just be a passenger, sweetheart."

Rey felt a flash of irritation at the pet name he used. She let it go, as a good Jedi would do. Still, she couldn't help but feel that this wouldn't be the last time Ben Solo got on her nerves. Especially from the way he was looking at her and smirking. She couldn't help but feel indignant. _He thinks I'm just some helpless little girl,_ she concluded in her mind. _I'll have to show him just how good of a Jedi I can be._

Luke and Leia arrived before she could respond and the four of them began to make their way back to Ben's ship. Luke had already briefed Rey on what she was meant to do and some good ways to go about doing it. Her ultimate goal was to capture the rogue Jedi and bring him back.

"But if it comes to it, kill him if you must," Luke told her reluctantly. "I don't want you giving up your own life to show mercy."

Rey shuddered at the thought. She had never killed anyone before, and she hoped to keep it that way. Capturing the rogue Jedi was what she would try for. Killing was to be her very last resort so hopefully it would not come to that.

"I would go to the Outer Rim first," Leia advised. "Things always get a little tenser in that area, and it would be the first place he'd flee to if he was looking to stir up some followers."

Ben made a show of rolling his eyes. "Please, mom. You're talking to the expert on stirring things up. Besides, I know the galaxy like I know my—"

"Don't say it," Luke cut him off.

"Hand! I was going to say hand, Uncle."

"You and I both know you were not going to say hand."

"Yeah, you're right. I wasn't."

Leia slapped the back of her son's head. Rey just looked on in confusion. The Skywalkers and Solos were an odd bunch.

"Come back safely," said Luke, enclosing Rey in a tight hug.

She returned the hug. "I will, I promise."

Luke looked over at Ben. "Take good care of her, Ben."

"Oh, I will." His tone when saying this earned him another slap on the head from his mother.

Rey watched out the window as Luke, Leia, and the other padawans gathered to see her off got smaller and smaller as their ship took off. She waved at them, hoping that this would not be the last time she saw them. Truthfully, Rey was very nervous about going on the mission. Even with Ben there, she still wasn't sure if they would be successful or not. Still, they had to try. The entire galaxy could be at stake if they did nothing.

As they broke through the atmosphere of Endor and into space, Rey left the window and went to explore the rest of the ship. It was quite big, and Ben had instructed her to find a room for her things. She didn't have much, just the lightsaber that was given to her by Luke, a map, a couple books, some provisions, and a few extra robes to wear. But she would need a place to sleep, so she set off to find one.

Ben took good care of his ship, as it was very clean and tidy. She didn't much care for the posters on the walls of half-naked women. She blushed when she saw them. It was not something Jedi were exposed to, so it was embarrassing to see such things. So she turned away and did not look at the walls as she explored.

She passed a few rooms that were clearly for storage, one that looked like it could be Ben's room, a kitchen, a bathroom, until she finally found an empty one with a bed. Entering, she looked around to make sure there were no posters in this one then sat down on the bed.

Opening her bag, she took out the lightsaber Luke had given her. She held it reverently in her hands; it was his lightsaber, since one had not yet been made for her. Before it had belonged to Luke, it belonged to Luke's father Anakin. Rey couldn't help but feel unworthy to hold such a huge piece of Jedi history in her hands. But Luke seemed to think she should wield it, so she didn't argue.

As she stared at the saber, she wondered what it would be like to use in battle. She had used them before, for practice with other padawans. Practice was not a battle of life and death though. She could not take it easy and laugh it off with her enemy afterwards. It could end up being only one of them who walked away from the fight alive. Rey felt sick thinking about it. If it came down to it, could she really kill someone?

"If you're trying to levitate the saber with your eyes, it's not working," came Ben's voice from the doorway. Rey jumped when he spoke and looked up to see him leaning on his elbow against the frame.

"Is this going to be a thing with you?" she asked, trying to keep herself from being irritated with him. She had left the door open, after all. It wasn't like he had barged in without knocking. Still, he didn't have to keep sneaking up on her like that.

He cocked his head. "What 'thing' are you talking about?"

"The leaning against things while watching me thing."

"Oh, that. I don't know, maybe." He smirked. "Why, don't you like it?"

Rey shook her head and put the saber back in her bag. "Not really," she replied. "I'd rather people announce their presence when they're near me."

"I did," he defended. "I spoke to you. You seemed lost in a thought though so that's why you didn't hear me come down the hall. You okay, sweetheart?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I was just thinking about what I have to do, that's all."

Ben looked at her, and she couldn't read his expression. She wondered what he thought when he looked at her. Was he still thinking about how helpless she looked? Or maybe he was disappointed that she was not someone more interesting. Either way, she didn't like not being able to read him. She could read everyone else at the temple and it helped her understand them better. How was she supposed to understand someone she couldn't read? She realized she was staring back at him while she thought all this and looked away quickly. There was no point in trying to give him the wrong idea of what she thought about him.

"So, what do you think?" Ben asked while Rey was pretending to be digging through her bag and checking her supplies.

"Of what?" she returned, still not looking at him.

"My ship," he said. "Isn't she beautiful? I named her the Solar Flare. Won her in a bet on Tatooine, actually. Nearly lost my left eye because the previous owner was a sore loser. But a bloody nose and a threat to jettison him into the sun was enough to make him keep the bet."

Rey wrinkled her nose. "Sounds like a nice way to make sure people do what you want," she said flatly.

"He sent his goons on me when he found out he'd lost. And when you're backed into a corner and have to fight off six guys, you can imagine I was a bit put out."

"Tatooine sounds like a very friendly planet."

"Oh yes. Maybe I can take you there someday."

"No thanks."

Ben chuckled. "Well, you know all about me now, since no doubt Luke's told you the rest. So tell me, Rey, what kind of girl are you?"

She blinked. "Excuse me?"

"By now you've probably guessed I'm a bit of a scoundrel. But how would you describe yourself? What is it you want out of life?"

"I'm…" Rey trailed off, not really sure how to answer his question. There was a lot to her, and she didn't know where to begin. Dedicated? Anxious? Strong? At least his second question was a bit easier to answer. Of course she wanted to become a Jedi Master once she completed all her training. She had a feeling though if she told Ben that, he might laugh in her face. After all, she'd witnessed firsthand back at the temple how cynical he was of the Jedi Order.

"You seem a little uptight," he noted while she debated on what to say. "Tell me, what will it take to make a girl like you let her hair down?"

Rey frowned and touched her braid. "What's wrong with my hair?" she asked sensitively.

Ben just laughed. "Man, you're something else sweetheart."

"And you're confusing," Rey grumbled, getting up from the bed and heading for the doorway. "Who's flying the ship right now while you're back here giving me a hard time?"

"It's on autopilot," said Ben. "And you think I'm giving you a hard time?"

She turned and looked up at him. He was at least a foot taller than her, so standing next to him made her feel even more like a child and frustrated her further. "I feel like you're making fun of me," she replied.

"Maybe just a little." He leaned down so that he was eye-level with her and his face was inches from her own. "If you want, I can think of some more enjoyable activities the two of us could do before we arrive in the Out Rim."

Rey met his gaze steadily, determined to not be intimidated by him. "So far, no activity with you sounds enjoyable," she said coolly.

Ben winked at her. "We'll see."

"Don't you have a course to be plotting right now?"

"So I do. Well then, if you're tired of my company I'll take my leave." Ben pulled his face away from hers and straightened himself. "But if you change your mind, sweetheart, you know where to find me." He removed himself from the doorway and without another remark made his way back down the hallway and out of sight.

It wasn't until he was gone that Rey realized how fast her heart had been beating, being that close to him. She was grumpy about it. Ben's cockiness and seemingly constant need to annoy her was getting to her. In spite of all this, she couldn't help but feel a little charmed by him, hence the quickened heartbeat, and it bothered her. Jedi weren't supposed to get attached. So, if Rey was sure of one thing, it was that she was not going to get attached to Ben Solo.

Back in the cockpit, Ben had other feelings. Rey had him fascinated, almost smitten. She was so pretty, and cute with the way she got all flustered by him. He found himself wanting to know more about her than what was on the surface. Ben could tell Rey was irritated by his mannerisms but there was something behind her irritation. After all, she'd been the one to move closer to him, and didn't bat an eye when he put his face close to hers. She was strong-minded and determined, he gave her that.

While he worked on plotting the course for the Outer Rim, Ben also worked on steadying his own heart rate. The encounter with Rey had got him a little bit more excited than he intended. So far, this trip was looking very promising indeed.


	4. Chapter 4

Rey sat with Ben in the cock pit of the Solar Flare. She tapped her foot while Ben steered the ship, an annoying smirk plastered on his face. Every time Rey glanced sideways at him, the smirk was still there. And after ten minutes of not knowing what he was smirking about, the young Jedi in training was ready to scream.

"Stop it," she grunted when she couldn't take it anymore.

Ben looked at her, the smirk vanishing for the first time. "Stop what?" he asked in confusion.

"You know what."

"What is it with women and always assuming men are on the same page as they are?" Ben shook his head. "My mother would do the same thing all the time to my dad."

Rey's cheeks turned pink. "You've been smirking for the past ten minutes," she accused. "It's very irritating."

He looked thoughtful rather than condescending at her accusation. "Wait, if you noticed it that means…have you been sneaking glances at me since you got here?"

"No!" Rey lied. "I kept turning to you to start a conversation but whenever I saw that look on your face I thought better of it."

The smirk was back in an instant. "Come on Rey, don't lie to yourself. If you find me handsome just say so."

"No," Rey said flatly. "I find you rather…average," she added, struggling to come up with a word to describe him.

"Right," he replied, still smirking. "I'm sure you do."

Rey glowered at him. "You're insufferable. Just tell me what you were smirking about."

"Why don't you just use your little Jedi powers to read my mind and find out?"

"I'm not sure I want to go into your mind, that's why."

Ben chuckled. "You're right, that's probably not a good idea. Fine, have it your way. I was just thinking about how you're going to have to change out of those Jedi robes before we land."

"My robes? What's wrong with them?"

"Think about it," said Ben, his tone turning serious for once. "You're about to traverse the galaxy and meet all kinds of beings. Not all of them are friendly to Jedi. You're gonna find that out the hard way if you wander around advertising what you are."

"I'm not advertising anything though," she argued.

"You kind of are, sweetheart. Want my advice for staying alive and finding your guy? Lose the robes. You can do it right here, if you'd like."

Rey ignored his comment. She was letting Ben get to her too much. Staying irritated was not the Jedi way. "Alright then, I'll change. Do you have any extra clothing on your ship?"

"If you look in the storage room to the left of the kitchen area, there's two trunks in there. The dark red one has some women's clothing while the black one has men's. You should be able to find something to wear in there."

She got up from her seat to make her way back to find the storage room. As she was exiting the cock pit, Ben called to her.

"Rey?"

Without turning around, she answered "Yeah?"

There was a short silence before he spoke again. "You know you can trust me, right?"

Rey paused before she answered. Trust? That was a strong word. She didn't fully trust anyone, save for Luke and Leia. And Ben, she'd known him for maybe a couple hours and so far all they'd done was butt heads. There was no way she could bring herself to trust him just yet. Still, despite his cockiness and generally irritating personality, she felt that maybe there was another side to him than he wasn't showing. Perhaps he had a soft side, and in that soft side he could eventually be trusted.

"I don't know," Rey replied, trying to sound passive.

"Alright," she heard him say. "Well, just know that you can."

She left the cock pit with his words on her mind. It was strange for him to suddenly ask for her trust. Rey wondered if it was a ploy to try and get her to lower her guard around him. She snorted at the thought. As if she would ever lower her guard for anyone, least of all him. Having been left by her mother and never knowing her father, Rey had to grow up strong on her own. Even with Luke there, he couldn't fill in the gap left by her missing family. Since dedicating her life to studying the Jedi arts, Rey didn't leave much time for interacting with others and building friendships. She had a fear of being abandoned again, just like what happened with her mom. Because of this, she didn't allow herself to trust anyone except the two people whom she hoped genuinely cared for her.

Rey hadn't had the time to form a full opinion about Ben. He was annoying, but beyond that she didn't know much about him. Perhaps until she found out more, she would hold off on making a sound judgement about him.

It was not difficult finding the storage room, and Rey set about opening the red trunk to have a look at what sort of female clothing Ben had. As she dug through the trunk, she at first thought he had been mistaken. It held nothing in it resembling dresses, pants, or shirts. Her fingers closed around one of the strange fabric items the trunk contained and pulled it out. It was red, small, and had two cups attached to the straps. It was almost like…

Ben didn't need to turn around to know Rey was coming back. He could hear her stomping down the hallway. He grinned. She must have looked in the red trunk. He turned his head to make a remark about it, but something soft hit him in the face. Reaching up and pulling it off, he saw what it was and bit his lip to hold back his laughter.

"You liar," he heard her complain behind him. "These aren't women's clothes."

"Sure they are," Ben replied, tossing the lingerie piece back at her. "They are clothes and women do wear them."

Rey moved closer to him and folded her arms. "Don't be a creep, I'm not wearing those things around."

"Oh no, I didn't expect you to," he said "even though I know you'd look ravishing in them. I just don't have any regular women's clothes on my ship. You can borrow some of my old ones until we get you something better. They should fit."

"Why didn't you just tell me that in the first place then?" she demanded, and he could tell she was barely keeping herself from smacking him in the face.

"I never told you to specifically look in the red trunk, you did that on your own. I just said one had women's and one had men's. You could have looked through the black one upon finding nothing you liked in the red one." Ben grinned at her. "Besides you're way too much fun to tease."

"You're unbelievable," Rey muttered then turned on her heel and left without another word.

He watched her go, that feeling of warmth returning as he did. He liked Rey so far. She was easy to get a rise out of and a bit naïve, but behind that he could see a strength. There was a toughness to her that he saw come out whenever he tried to flirt with her. She knew how to stand her ground and not be put down, that was for sure. And he liked that quality in a girl.

As he continued to think fondly of Rey, a blinking light on the transmitter indicated he had an incoming call. He sighed when he saw the source. His mother was calling already. And he had no choice but to reach over and press the button to receive it.

"Mom, we've barely cleared the Alistair Quadrant and you're already calling me?" he grumped to her small, hologram figure.

Leia folded her arms. "Drop the attitude," she snapped "I wanted to check in with Rey. This is the first time she's left Endor since she was a child."

Ben rolled his eyes. "Mom please, she's an adult. Cut the cord, will you?"

"Where is she? You haven't tried anything on her have you?"

He held up his hands innocently. "Come on, you know me. I would never do such a thing."

"I do know you, and yes you would."

"Yeah, you're right. Okay, maybe I flirted a little bit with her—"

"Ben Organa Solo!" He winced as his mother used his full name. "What did I specifically tell you before you took off? Leave—Rey—alone!"

Ben shrugged. "She's a pretty girl, and I'm a handsome guy. You know it's bound to happen eventually."

Leia sighed and massaged her forehead with her hand. "Just go get Rey for me, will you? I want to talk to her, and you're giving me a headache."

"Anything for you, mom," he replied, smiling sweetly as he flipped on the autopilot. "Hang on, I'll get her."

Rey was back in her room, tying up the boots to complete her new ensemble. She'd managed to finally find a shirt and pair of pants that fit her and was lucky enough to discover the boots as well. The clothing must have been Ben's when he was much younger, because the pant legs weren't as long as Rey was expecting. She fumed a little bit as she put them on though. It was bad enough that Ben thought her so helpless, but when he saw her in his childhood clothing it would only increase the teasing. She sighed. If only Luke had just let her travel alone.

She stood up and walked slowly over to look in the mirror that was in her room. It wasn't often that she saw her reflection, since mirrors weren't something Jedis used for their appearances. Rey took a moment to look at herself; her round face and dark eyes, her brown hair pulled back into its usual braid behind her head. Her face was the same, but when she looked down at her body it was like it belonged to someone else. A pair of black pants, boots, and a loose light blue shirt that was soft on her skin. Turning away from her reflection, she reached back and took the black jacket she'd found off the bed. She pulled it on and was pleased with the result. It looked good on her.

Rey knew she shouldn't be enjoying living outside the Jedi lifestyle, but she was a little bit. It was like a great pressure had been lifted off her shoulders. She didn't even realize the pressure had been there until she took off the Jedi robes and put on Ben's old clothes. It made her feel like a normal girl with a normal life. Still, she couldn't let such things distract her from her goal. Even though she wasn't dressed like a Jedi, she still had to act like one and stay focused. They would never succeed if she didn't.

"Rey?"

She turned at the sound of her name and saw Ben standing in the doorway, his hand raised as if he were about to knock on the frame. She waited for him to laugh or make a remark about her wearing his old clothes. Neither came, and he just sort of stood there in the doorway, looking at her with an unreadable expression on his face. Rey was surprised that he was suddenly so quiet after an entire morning of getting on her nerves. She did not understand at all how his thought process worked.

When he didn't follow up on his appearance, Rey decided to break the awkward silence he was creating. "Yes?" she prompted.

Ben shook himself from whatever thought was on his mind keeping him silent. "Sorry, my mother—Leia wants to talk to you. She's on the transmitter."

"Really? We just left," said Rey, feeling a little irked. "We've only been gone like ten minutes and already they want to check in with me?"

"I know, I told her the same thing," he agreed. "But that's my mom for you. She just cares about you a lot."

Hearing that made Rey smile. She had always hoped that Leia cared, and hearing Ben confirm it made her happy. "You think so?"

Ben frowned. "You doubt it?"

Rey's gaze fell to the floor. "I'm just…not really used to being cared about," she replied in a quiet voice.

"Well hey, I can assure you one hundred percent that my mom does," said Ben. He stepped aside and gestured over his shoulder. "Come on, better answer her call so she doesn't think I'm doing anything to you."

"Should I be worried about that?" asked Rey, giving him a look as she approached him at the doorway.

He winked at her. "Only if you want me to, sweetheart."

Rey stopped about a foot away from him. He was still giving her that unreadable look and it bothered her. She didn't like not knowing. "What is it?" she inquired.

Ben shook his head. "Nothing, don't worry about it, sweetheart. Go talk to Leia, I'll be there in a second."

Shrugging, Rey moved passed him and made her way back to the cockpit to check in with Leia. When she was gone, Ben slipped into the room and leaned his back against the wall. He had to take a moment to gather his thoughts. Seeing Rey in his clothes, even his old ones, had caught him off guard. He knew she would look better now that she wasn't wearing the Jedi robes, but he hadn't expected her to look so—appealing. Normally with such a girl he would have walked right up confidently and put the moves on her, but it was different with Rey. When it came to her, he felt like he had a lot more to lose if she turned him down. And the fact that his attraction ran so deep, even after such a short amount of time spent with her, worried him. Because from there it was probably only going to get stronger.

Ben ran a hand through his thick dark hair and took a deep breath. "Damn Solo," he muttered to himself "what's she doing to you?"


	5. Chapter 5

Ben Solo had made a decision, and that decision was to not give himself any more time to get attached to Rey. They would find the rogue, capture him, and then Rey would go back to the Jedi temple where she belonged. After that, he could carry on with business as usual and gradually all thoughts of her would fade from his mind.

He snuck a glance at her as they entered the planet's atmosphere. She wasn't looking at him, but instead in fascination at the world stretched out below them. He'd forgotten that this was her first time leaving Endor and getting to see other places. What was a familiar sight to him was new and amazing to her. He smiled at the look of wonder on her face. It softened her features, made her look—well—cute.

Ben turned away _. I thought you wanted your princess to come_ , an annoying voice in his head pointed out. _Yeah, but I didn't mean like_ _now_ , he argued back. _I've got so much to do first_.

"You're oddly quiet," said Rey, and he could see out of the corner of his eye she was looking at him. "I'd expected at least a dozen comments out of you by now about me wearing your old clothes."

"You really want to travel down that road, sweetheart?" he returned, feeling his sarcastic nature return in an instant. "Because I'm sure you probably don't want to know what I'm thinking."

She folded her arms. "Don't be creepy about it," she mumbled.

He gave her a winning grin. "Now you know why I refrained from saying anything. Although if you want, I could show you how much I appreciate your new look."

"No thanks."

Ben chuckled. "Anyway, we're almost to Fastisa now. I have some contacts there that may be able to point us in the right direction."

Rey frowned. "Fastisa? I've never heard of that before."

"It's kind of a romping grounds for criminals, so that doesn't surprise me. While we're here, just stick close to me and don't make eye contact with anyone. Also, it'd probably be best if you don't say anything either."

"Why?" she asked and he could hear the offense in her tone.

"No one around here takes kindly to Jedis," he replied. "Also, a pretty girl like you is going to get some unwanted attention. It's best if you just don't make any sort of contact with anyone."

Rey looked down at her hands, but it didn't seem to be with embarrassment. She looked angry.

"What are you mad about?" Ben asked in confusion. "I just called you pretty. Don't girls like to hear that?"

"This is my mission," said Rey. "I should be the one taking charge."

Ben worked on turning the controls, preparing to land at the port. "Yeah, well I'm the more experienced one here, sweetheart, so you're going to have to let me take this."

"I'm not a child," she whispered, and he could hear the frustration in her voice when she said it. He could only imagine how frustrated she was, after probably being sheltered her entire life and continuing to be now that she was with him.

He sighed. Docking the ship and making sure all the controls were off, he then turned to face her. "Look sweetheart, it's not that I don't think you can do this. Honestly, you seem like the most capable Jedi I've ever met. But what you have to understand is that this is my world. I've been with this crowd for over a decade and it's where I excel. Let me take charge, just until we find our guy, yeah?"

Rey's big brown eyes met his, and he felt that warmth fill him again when she gave him a small smile. "You really mean all that?" she asked in a quiet voice.

Without thinking about it, Ben reached over and gave one of her hands a gentle squeeze. "For once, sweetheart, I do."

They looked at each other, and for a moment Ben allowed himself to get lost in looking at her. And Rey didn't seem in too much of a hurry to look away either. She wasn't moving her hand out from underneath his. _Maybe,_ thought Ben. _Just maybe…_

Their moment was shattered by a loud shrieking noise. Both turned and saw a stumpy orange alien sitting on the hood of their ship, hands on his hips. "You gonna pay or what?" he asked in a squeaky voice.

Ben stood quickly, patting his pockets for his money. "Right, we've got things to do. C'mon, sweetheart, let's get this over with."

Rey hopped down from the ship onto the floor of the docking hangar and looked around at all the commotion happening around her. People and aliens of all shapes, colors, and sizes were mulling about, docking their ships and speaking to one another in a variety of sounds and languages. They certainly didn't see such a crowd as this on Endor.

While Ben paid the orange alien, Rey wandered around a little bit to get a better look at everything. Through the exit of the hangar she could see what she guessed was Fastisa, a dull colored town stretched out over a pretty bland stretch of land. The grass was a faded green color and the trees off in the distance were the same. It certainly did not compare to the vibrant greens of the plant life back on Endor. Even though the colors were a bit strange, Rey couldn't help but be amazed by how big and different everything was compared to home.

"Darling, we need to get going," Ben called to her from somewhere behind her.

Rey turned and raised her eyebrows at him. "'Darling'? Is that supposed to be me?"

Ben didn't reply, but strode over to her and wrapped an arm around her waist, escorting her out of the hangar. Rey's heart began to pound when he did. No one had ever done something like that before.

"What are you doing?" she demanded under her breath as they walked.

"Just trust me on this," Ben muttered back.

Rey scowled. "You couldn't have asked first?"

"In any other situation I would, but trust me when I say that this will keep you safe."

"Safe from what?" she scoffed. But as she said it, they passed by a group of men in ragged clothing who had their eyes fixed on her. Their gaze made her uncomfortable and she subconsciously shifted closer to Ben.

Ben must have felt her discomfort, because he brought his hand to her back and gave it a gentle pat. "I told you, Fastisa isn't the safest place for pretty girls."

Rey turned her gaze dead ahead. So Ben really was telling the truth after all. He wasn't underestimating her by taking charge—he was protecting her.

"I'm sorry," she said to him as they pushed through the busy streets together.

"For what?"

"For doubting you."

He smiled down at her and gave her a wink. "It's called 'trust', sweetheart. You'll learn how to do it eventually."

"Don't get your hopes up, _darling_."

Rey was grateful that Ben seemed to know where they were going. She was sure she would get lost in an instant in such a place. Every building they passed seemed to look the same as the last. She had no idea how Ben could tell if they were even going the right way. But she did as she was told and stuck close to Ben, not making eye contact with anyone they passed.

"Solo!" a voice called, causing Ben to pull to a stop.

She was nervous he would have to run from whoever it was that called out, but was relieved when he broke into a grin upon looking back and seeing who it was. "Heya, Marsden," he greeted, releasing Rey to go and hug a tall, scruffy man with a long piece of wood over his shoulder.

"It's been ages, what brings you back to Fastisa?" Marsden asked as they caught up.

Ben shrugged. "Oh you know, just doing a little bit of digging for some jobs. My clientele are getting to know me now, which means I need to find new clientele."

Marsden chortled. "Some things never change, I see. And who do we have here?" he added, his tone changing upon looking past Ben and seeing Rey.

Rey froze. Ben had instructed her not to speak to anyone…did his old friends count? She didn't know whether to introduce herself, or remain silent. Luckily, she was saved by Ben. He quickly swept over to her, arms going back around her waist and leaning down to place a kiss upon her cheek. "I'm sorry," he whispered into her ear while his lips were close to it. "Just play along."

Even though Rey wanted to use the Force to throw him into a wall, she nodded. It wasn't so much out of him kissing her than it was her shock and confusion when he did. He certainly wasn't making her resolve to not grow attached to him any easier.

"This is Rey," said Ben, introducing her to Marsden. "My new lover."

"She's a beauty," Marsden noted, looking Rey up and down. "Where'd you pick her up?"

"Jakku, if you can believe that."

The scruffy man snorted. "Jakku? That old junkyard?"

"Well you know what they say," said Ben, still holding Rey in his arms and looking down at her fondly "if you look hard enough through junk, you can find some real treasure."

"Darling, please," Rey giggled, going along with the act. "I told you not in public. You're embarrassing me."

He grinned mischievously. "I can't help it. I want people to see how much I love you and I can't wait until we get to the inn."

Marsden grimaced. "Well if that's where you're headed, I won't delay you anymore. Good to see you again, Ben. You two have fun."

"Oh we will," Ben assured him as he turned and made his way back down the street. "You know, you're really cute when you get all shy like that."

Rey rolled her eyes and wiggled out of his grasp. "Don't get used to it, _darling_. I only played along because I didn't like the way he was looking at me."

"Fair enough. Come on, we're almost there."

Within minutes they arrived at what appeared to be an especially shabby looking building that Ben called a "cantina." Rey didn't really want to go in, as it gave her a bad feeling, but Ben assured her it was alright.

"As far as cantinas go, this is one of the safer ones," he said as they walked in.

Rey looked warily around the dimly lit room. "Sure doesn't look safe," she mumbled, sticking close to Ben.

They approached the bar, and Ben gestured for her to have a seat. He called the bartender over and ordered a drink for Rey. "Get her something light," he instructed. "Also, can you just keep an eye on her while I'm gone? She shouldn't give you too much trouble."

"Wait, where are you going?" Rey asked, putting a hand on his arm as he started to walk off.

"I think it's best if I meet with my contact alone," he responded.

His leaving her there made her feel nervous. "Are you sure I can't come with you?"

Ben took her hand gently from his arm and turned her back around on the bar stool. "I promise I won't take long. Just stay here, enjoy a couple drinks, and I'll be back before you even have time to miss me."

Rey didn't argue it any further, but she still found it strange that Ben was going to leave her alone in Fastisa after emphasizing how dangerous it was. Still, if he thought she would be safe in the cantina, she figured she should give him the benefit of the doubt. So, she gloomily watched him leave the bar then turned back to down the purple drink the bartender had set before her. It was a mixture of sour and sweet and she'd never tasted anything like it before.

"That was good," she said when she finished it. "Can I get another one of these?"

"Sure, but be careful, miss," said the bartender, a young man who Rey thought looked familiar, but she was positive couldn't be anyone she knew. After all, she'd never left Endor to meet anyone new. So she ignored it and tried to stop overthinking why Ben left her alone. Perhaps she would just do as he said and have a few drinks…

Ben entered a different building down the road, this one even darker and far quieter than the cantina. The doorway was so low that he had to duck his head to pass through it. Inside, there were a few people and aliens scattered about playing cards at circular glass tables, but no one even glanced up as he entered. They were so engrossed in their games that the roof could have been on fire and they wouldn't even know it. His eyes adjusted to the dark room then scanned the crowd until landing on the man he was looking for. He was sitting alone at the far end of the room, moving pieces across a board that sat on the table before him. The man had dark skin, dark hair and was dressed in a fine white uniform. He had angular features and an intelligent look to him. Ben knew him well, and he was someone he would gladly trust with his life.

As Ben approached, the man didn't even look up as he said "It's been a while since I've seen a Solo around here."

"How are you, Finn?" Ben greeted as he took a seat across from him at the table.

Finn moved one of the pieces. "I'm alright. Your mother's been keeping me busy with all the missions for the Resistance that she sends me on."

"Sounds like Leia to me."

"But you're not here to discuss Leia," Finn went on, pulling a couple pieces from the board and placing them off to the side. He finally looked up at Ben. "Your business is more urgent than that."

Ben looked around the room. The game house was the perfect place to talk in private, because no one ever listened in. Everyone was always too busy trying to win money in their games than spy on neighboring conversations.

"What sort of things have you been hearing through the Resistance?" Ben asked in a low voice. Even though no one was listening, he still wanted to be discrete.

"Lots of things," Finn replied. "Not all of them good. But I'm guessing you're asking about the rogue Jedi than nearly killed your uncle not too long ago."

Ben wasn't surprised Finn knew this information. Finn, while not a trained Jedi, was very strong with the Force and had frequent visions of things. If anyone knew where the rogue Jedi was hiding, it was Finn. And that was why Ben sought him out in the first place. His information was reliable, and also the only lead they would be able to get.

Finn smiled and shook his head. "I know you, Ben. You wouldn't seek him out on your own. You're helping a Jedi find him."

As usual, he hit the nail right on the head. "I am," Ben admitted, seeing no point in hiding it. "Can you help us find him?"

"I don't see why not," answered Finn. "You and your family have helped me more times than I can count. It's only fair that I repay everything you've done for me. But I am going to warn you…make sure this is a path you don't mind going down."

Ben frowned. "What do you mean?"

Finn sighed. "My visions aren't always clear, and they've been wrong before. I'm gonna be straight with you on this though, Ben. In my vision about this Jedi I saw—I saw him strike you down."

The young smuggler felt his throat go dry at his friend's words. "He kills me?"

Finn shook his head. "I don't know. All I saw was his lightsaber go up and you go down."

Ben couldn't deny, he was unsettled by the thought. He considered maybe just sending Rey on the right course and then ducking out on the mission. But that was the cowardly route, and he liked Rey. He couldn't let her face the rogue Jedi on her own. As hard as it was, he had to finish this.

"Well, I've survived a lot," Ben remarked after a few moments of silence. "What's a lightsaber to the chest to save the galaxy?"

Finn chuckled. "It's amazing how much like your dad you are. Alright, I can't tell you exactly where he's at, but I can tell you where I've seen him in my visions most frequently. He should be somewhere on Dathomir."

"Dathomir? Well that's not exactly a hop away like I was expecting."

"You can't have everything be convenient in life."

"Yeah, well it would make things a hell of a lot easier."

"That it would. Anyway, where's your Jedi friend?"

Ben realized it had been quite some time since he left Rey at the bar. He swore and got to his feet quickly. "I left her at the Ersaz cantina. She's in good hands there, but I should probably get back."

"So it is a girl then," Finn remarked. "I saw her in my visions too, but wasn't sure if she was the one or not. She's quite pretty, isn't she?"

"Yeah, hence the reason I need to get back to her."

Finn studied him carefully. "You have feelings for her?"

"What? No," Ben answered quickly. "But this is her first time out on her own and Luke trusted me with her. I've got to keep her safe."

"Alright," said Finn, but he had a knowing look on his face. "If I were you, I'd wait until tomorrow morning to leave. There's a storm rolling in real quick and it's not a good idea to fly through it."

"Fine. We can stay at the inn. Want to come with me and meet her?"

Finn shrugged. "Sure, why not? I don't have to report back to Leia until tomorrow so I have some time to kill."

The two men made their way back to the cantina. As soon as they entered, Ben could tell there was a problem. All the patrons in the cantina were looking towards a crowd gathered up near the bar. Right where he left…

"Rey!" Ben shouted, rushing up towards the crowd. He used the Force to shove bodies out of the way so he could see what was going on. Rey was there, with one of the shady men they'd passed earlier in a headlock. One man was unconscious on the floor and the other was pinned against the wall by an overturned table.

"I'm sorry," said a voice, and Ben saw it was the bartender who spoke. "I tried to step in and help her when they attacked, but she seems to be doing fine on her own."

Rey did seem to be doing fine, as she began to punch the face of the man she had in a headlock. Her hair had come loose from her braid, and she looked quite fierce. If he wasn't so worried about her drawing attention to herself, he would have allowed himself to feel attracted to her in that moment. But he had to stop the fight.

"That's enough, Rey," he said loudly, stepping in and putting a force hold on her. He strode over and pried her arm off the man so that he fell to the floor and worked on squirming away. Ben glared at him. "Serves you right, asshole."

"Let me go!" Rey demanded. "I can handle myself just fine!" There was something off in her voice. It was higher, and her words were slightly slurred.

"Wait, are you drunk?" Ben asked her. He turned to the bartender, who was standing among the watching crowd. "Is she drunk?"

The bartender looked sheepish. "She had about four glasses of it. I didn't think it would hit her that hard."

Groaning, Ben scooped up the still complaining and slurring Rey and put her over his shoulder. He shooed away the crowd, claiming there was nothing more for them to see and gradually everyone went back to business.

When they were gone, he turned apologetically to Finn, who was still stifling his laughter at the situation. "Why don't you come back and meet her tomorrow when she's sober," he suggested. "Besides, I need to get her upstairs. She's caused enough commotion for one day."

"Very well, I'll see you tomorrow then," said Finn, nodding at his friend and then turning to exit the cantina, still laughing.


	6. Chapter 6

After getting their room card from the bartender, Ben carried the still struggling Rey upstairs to where the lodging portion of the cantina was. He tried to keep the Force hold on her, but she was so strong that it was doing next to nothing now that she'd realized she could fight it.

When he got into their room, he shut the door behind them and tossed Rey onto the bed. "What were you thinking?" he snapped at her, now that they were alone.

"They attacked me!" Rey snapped back, looking dazed but angry.

"You're lucky this cantina is the safest one on this planet," Ben grunted, folding his arms. "If you'd done that anywhere else, you'd be dead."

For a moment, he thought Rey was going to cry. Then he heard her growl angrily, ball her hands into fists and rise up from the bed. She started to lunge at him, but her drunken state slowed her movements. Ben moved forward and caught her by the wrists before she could hit him, pushing her back down onto the bed and holding her there.

"Calm down," he instructed, using his size to his advantage in order to keep her pinned down. "You're drunk and you're not thinking straight."

Rey struggled against him for a minute more then suddenly stopped. When she looked up at him, there were tears in her eyes. "You left me," she choked out as the tears began to well up, threatening to overflow and slide down her face. "What else was I supposed to do?"

"I know," Ben said, more gently this time. "I figured you'd be safe here while I was gone. I'm sorry I took so long and you got into trouble."

"They attacked me," Rey repeated, tears now streaming silently down. "I didn't know what else to do and you weren't there, so I fought back. I had to protect myself—I couldn't let them—" She closed her eyes again, struggling to take deep breaths.

Ben realized that he'd completely ignored her side of the story. All he'd seen was a commotion that could get them into trouble and had been annoyed with her for it. Those men had attacked Rey first, and she was just doing what she had to. And he'd chastised her for it…

"I'm sorry, Rey," he apologized. "You're okay now though. You're okay."

He released her wrists, but before he could climb off of her Rey grabbed his hands. Confused, he watched as she looked down at his hands, rubbing her thumbs over his fingers. "You're a kind person, Ben Solo," she mused as she held his hands in her own. She had stopped crying, although her face was still wet from the tears.

"I don't know if kind is the best word to describe me," he replied, wondering what was with her sudden change of mood. "Rey, you're drunk, I don't think you should—"

"Do you really think I'm pretty?" she asked, looking up at him now.

Ben opened his mouth to respond, but was caught off guard by how she was looking at him. Her eyelids were low and her lips were slightly parted. That coupled with her flushed cheeks, loose hair, and the fact that her shirt was open enough that he could partially see her breasts underneath was enough to give him pause.

"I do," he murmured, returning his gaze to her face.

Rey smiled at him. "Can I tell you a secret?"

"Sure," said Ben.

"Come closer," she instructed.

Ben leaned down and waited for her to tell him what was on her mind. He was thrown way off however when Rey lifted herself off the bed and pressed her lips to his. Ben felt his mind go blank when she kissed him. He didn't know what to do at first, until he felt instinct kick in and return the kiss. His hand went to the side of her face, entwining his fingers into her hair. Her lips were so soft—she was so soft—

And then he remembered his father's words: _It doesn't count if she's drunk, son_. As soon as he did, Ben pulled out of the kiss and took his hand away from her. He was ashamed of himself for nearly giving in to his own temptation. Rey wasn't thinking straight, and it would be wrong of him to take advantage of that.

"We can't do this, Rey," he told her gently.

Rey remained close to him for a moment before slowly laying back down on the bed. "I'm dizzy," she mumbled, closing her eyes. "And tired."

"Get some sleep, you've had a long day." Even as he said it though, he noticed her breathing had slowed and her chest moving slowly up and down. Reaching up, he buttoned the top couple buttons on her shirt then slid off of the bed.

Even though the kiss didn't count, that didn't make the feeling go away. Ben couldn't just pretend it didn't happen. It had happened, and his heart was going a mile a minute because of it. In that one moment, the kiss he shared with her had made him so happy. He had never felt like that before, so elated, like he could go outside, jump and float among the clouds.

He shook his head and pushed the feelings away. No, he'd already decided against this. Besides, if Rey remembered what had happened, knowing her she'd be mortified. That wasn't her that had kissed him. It was just an alcohol-propelled kiss spurred on by high emotions and probably her own subconscious confusion about what she felt for him.

Ben looked back over his shoulder at Rey's sleeping form. In spite of himself, he smiled and let the warm feeling take over again. Yeah, he had chosen not to pursue her, but that didn't mean he couldn't like her still.

Rey woke the next morning with a pounding headache. The last time she could remember feeling so poorly was when she'd been out playing in the rain on Endor, getting her clothes soaked and not drying off properly before bed. The next morning she had felt so terrible that she hadn't left the bed all day and Luke had to bring her meals to her, which she could barely eat. This was much worse.

She put a hand to her head and groaned as she sat up to see where she was. Obviously, she was not at the bar anymore. That was the last thing she could remember before her memories just sort of stopped. Bits and pieces came back, but they didn't feel coherent or real. It all felt like a dream she'd had and could only barely piece together.

On the table next to the bed was two small pills and a glass of water. Rey saw them and immediately understood: Pain medicine. They had the same thing back on Endor. She snatched them up and took them with the water. Her head continued to throb, but when the medicine kicked in she knew she'd feel much better.

After taking the pain pills, she surveyed her surroundings. She was in a shabby room, probably one that was above the cantina since she could hear muffled music playing below. There was one window, a closet, and a washroom. On the floor next to the bed, Ben was stretched out, sleeping with his jacket rolled beneath him. For some reason, when she saw him Rey felt her face heating up. There was one memory involving Ben that she was unsure about. In it, he'd had her underneath him on the bed and she'd kissed him.

Rey put a hand to her lips. Had that one really happened? Or was it just a dream? She desperately hoped for the latter to be true. Jedi weren't supposed to show such affections. Then again, Jedi also weren't supposed to get drunk and maybe or maybe not beat the living daylights out of locals. She sighed. Master Luke had better not find out about this.

After what felt like hours, the medicine finally kicked in and Rey's head began to clear. Her stomach still felt a little queasy, and her body was weak as she left the bed and went to the washroom to bathe. The warm water felt good and lifted her spirits though, and she scrubbed herself as best she could. She changed into a fresh set of Ben's old clothes she'd brought with her from the ship.

She started to braid her hair, but paused. Looking at her reflection in the mirror, she liked the way she looked with her hair down. It framed her face nicely and made her feel more grown up. Even though it wouldn't do her much good in a fight, she could worry about that later. Rey decided to leave her hair down for the day.

When she got out of the washroom, Ben was already up and sitting on the bed, checking something on a small device in his hand. He looked up at her and grinned in that annoying way of his when she entered.

"Look at you," he exclaimed as she approached. "I certainly wouldn't peg you for the belligerent drunk I carried away from a fight just last evening."

Rey glowered at him. "I wouldn't have got into a fight if you hadn't taken so damn long."

Ben whistled. "Looks like I'm starting to rub off on you, sweetheart. Careful, a Solo personality may not be what you want to take back to Jedi training."

She dropped down next to him on the bed, studying the device in his hand. "What's that?"

"Well, it has lots of purposes: Compass, communication, scanner, radar. Right now I'm using it to check the weather and see when the storm will clear enough for us to head out."

"What does it say?"

Ben pointed to a blot of yellow and orange on the gridded screen. "See that? That's the storm. Right here, that's us. The times are on the bottom, so right now the storm is about two hours off. I'd say if we want to clear the atmosphere before it hits again, we should leave now."

"Well then what are we waiting for? Let's go." Rey got up from the bed and went about packing up the few things she'd brought with her.

Ben watched her as she did, with an odd look on his face. Worry, maybe? "Are you sure you're alright now?" he asked, confirming her theory about him being concerned about her.

She shrugged. "I mean, I'm not in any shape to fight rogue Jedis right now, if that's what you're asking. But I think I'll be alright in a little while."

There was silence in the room as Ben gathered his things too. Then—

"Rey?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you remember anything from last night?"

Rey paused with her bag halfway to her shoulder. Should she ask him about the kiss? No, probably not. She didn't want to have that conversation, not right now anyway. Maybe later on when she'd had time to process it herself.

"Not really. Did I really get into a fight last night?"

Ben chuckled. "Yeah, you sure did, sweetheart. Beat the hell out of three creeps trying to pick you up."

She smiled, feeling proud of herself. "So does that prove to you now that I can handle myself?"

He stood, throwing his bag over his shoulder and looked down at her as he passed her while heading for the door. "Oh believe me, sweetheart, I knew you could do it before. Last night's fight just let me see it for myself."

Rey couldn't suppress a pleased look at his words as they left. At least now she knew for sure he wasn't going to underestimate her strength.

When they got to the hangar, Finn was at their ship waiting for them. Rey slowed as they approached, looking at him in confusion.

"Who's that?" she whispered to Ben.

"His name's Finn," Ben answered. "He's part of the Resistance and an ex-Stormtrooper. He's also a good friend of mine. I was going to introduce you last night, but you were a little—ah—out of it."

Rey looked down, but Ben gave her a friendly clap on the shoulder. "Hey sweetheart, we've all gotten drunk and made bad choices before. We've all been there."

"Good morning," Finn greeted as they stopped before him. "Rey, it's very good to meet you in control of all your faculties."

She rubbed her neck in discomfort. "Yeah, sorry about that. Good to meet you." They shook hands, and Rey found that she immediately liked him. He seemed like a very warm, open, and honest young man.

"You're strong with the Force," Finn noted when he released her hand. "You'll make a great Jedi one day."

Rey started a bit. She looked at Ben nervously, but he gave her a reassuring look. "Finn is Force sensitive but not trained like you and other Jedi are. He can sense it in others, but not wield it as much."

"You should train with Luke," Rey recommended, glad that Finn was on their side and not anti-Jedi.

Finn just smiled and shook his head. "I don't think the Jedi life is for me. The Resistance is where I belong."

"Finn's going to help us get to Dathomir," Ben explained. "He's had visions of what we need to do."

"Dathomir?" Rey repeated. "Is that where the rogue is hiding?"

"It's where I've seen him the most in my visions," said Finn. "Once we're there, I can send you where you need to go. I'll have one of my friends in the Resistance pick me up after my task is done so I can get back to the base."

Ben was looking up at the clouds outside, frowning. "Come on, we'd better get a move on if we're going to beat this storm," he instructed. "Dathomir is no short distance either, so the sooner we get going the better."

They boarded the ship and took off. Rey was a little nervous about going to Dathomir, as she'd heard stories about how rough some of the people who resided there were. If the rogue had gathered followers on Dathomir, odds were they were going to be up against some rather nasty beings. She couldn't help but feel sickened at the thought, but that sickness might have been from the previous night's drunken escapades.

"You seem a little off," Finn noted as Rey was headed back to her room to lie down and recover a bit. "Is everything okay?"

Rey tried to smile, but it felt forced. "Yeah, I'm good."

Finn wasn't convinced. "You know, I didn't always know I could use the Force. I spent the first sixteen years of my life as a Stormtrooper, trained to kill and destroy. I made a choice though, that I wasn't going to let that be my life anymore. I joined the Resistance and completely turned my life around. I found strength where I didn't have any." He reached out and put a hand on her shoulder. "Look inside you, Rey. You'll find the power to do things you never thought you could."

His words were comforting. Rey wanted Finn to stay with them, to help them bring in the rogue. But she knew that it had to be her, and she didn't want to drag Finn into the mess as well. He seemed too good of a person for that.

"Go rest," Finn suggested. "Ben and I will be up front if you need us."

Rey parted from him, and when she got to her room she dropped down onto the bed in exhaustion. She still felt queasy, both from her mood and from the alcohol. Laying down felt good, and she closed her eyes. She tried not to have a negative outlook on what was going to happen next. Luke had always told her that negativity can lead to the Dark Side, and she did not want that. Still, it was very difficult to be positive all the time. Rey wondered at how the Jedi managed it without going insane. It seemed impossible to be strong and confident all the time.

While trying not to think about fighting the rogue, she instead started thinking about Ben. If she had kissed him, he certainly wasn't acting any different about it. Maybe it had just been a dream like she thought. If it was, why was she dreaming about kissing him? Surely, it was too soon to have romantic feelings for him. Could they really develop so quickly? Rey couldn't deny that Ben was handsome, and occasionally charming when he wasn't being irritating. She'd had little experience with romantic attraction in the past, so at the moment all she could feel was confusion in regards to what she felt for him.

Rey recalled a time back at the temple when another Jedi, Allan, had started spending more time with her than he used to. He would do things that he didn't before, like steal her lightsaber and hold it teasingly above her head, or save her a seat beside him at meal times. She was confused by his behavior until one day after training had finished for the day, he pulled her aside to talk to her.

" _Rey, I have something I need to tell you," Allan had said, shifting his feet. He was much taller than her and very skinny with straight blonde hair that nearly covered his brown eyes._

" _What is it?" she asked, not knowing at all what was to come next._

" _Rey…I'm in love with you," he confessed, taking her hands into his own._

 _Feeling uncomfortable and confused, Rey had taken her hands away and backed up. "It's forbidden, Allan," she told him in a low voice. "Jedi aren't allowed to be in love."_

" _I don't care," he replied, sounding desperate now. "Rey, I love you and I want to be with you. Please tell me you feel the same way."_

 _Rey's first instinct was to tell him off, snap at him for going against what they were taught. Then she felt her heart soften, as Allan was being sincere and she knew she was going to hurt him with her response._

 _So instead, she shook her head and said in a voice just above a whisper "I'm sorry, but I do not feel the same."_

After that, Allan had avoided her and refused to speak to her. Hurt and confused by her friend shunning her, Rey went to Luke and told him the entire story.

" _Was I wrong to reject him?" she asked her mentor as they walked through the gardens. "Should I have said yes so he wouldn't get hurt?"_

" _No, Rey, you did nothing wrong," Luke replied gently. "You don't owe anyone love. Besides, if you had said yes, you would have been lying to him. That would have hurt him worse when he found out the truth."_

 _Rey frowned and stuck her hands under her arms. "I'm glad Jedis aren't allowed to love. It sounds too complicated and hurtful."_

 _Luke chuckled. "Don't you worry about that now, Rey. Concentrate on your training, and maybe someday you'll understand it all. In the meantime, I'll have a talk with Allan and tell him to stop treating you so coldly for speaking the truth."_

Allan did start talking to Rey again after that, as Luke's talk with him must have helped him see that he should not be upset with her. However, they were never as close after that, and Rey couldn't help but feel a small pang every time she thought about it.

 _Romance is nothing but trouble_ , present day Rey concluded as she rolled over onto her side. _Ben may be handsome and charming, but I can't allow myself to feel that way about him. I've got too much else to worry about right now._

She was right. The closer their ship got to Dathomir, the quicker she was going to have to steel herself against the task ahead. If the rogue really was hiding there, she would have to fight him, and that was something she would rather reject the feelings of a hundred young men than do.


	7. Chapter 7

Rey was cold. Looking around her, she could see that she was standing in the middle of a snowy forest. As she stood there, snow continued to fall from above, causing her to shiver whenever it came into contact with her skin. She lifted her right arm and was surprised to see Luke's light saber in her hand. Rey frowned. What was going on?

Just as she thought this, ahead of her she saw a flash of red and a dark figure walking towards her rapidly. Rey took a few steps back and activated the saber out of instinct. It was the rogue Jedi, it had to be. He continued to move towards her, but had a hood on making it difficult for her to see his face. Her heart beat was quick and hard as he approached. This was it, it was either kill or be killed.

"Stop!" she called out to him when he was only a few feet away. "I don't want to fight you. I've come from the new Jedi Order to bring you in for questioning."

The figure stopped about six feet away from her. Then he gave a low chuckle and replied with "Do you really believe I will give in to the likes of you?"

Rey started, because his voice sounded familiar. "I'm giving you a choice," she continued bravely. "You can either come quietly and speak with my master, or I can strike you down right here."

"Oh Rey," the figure sighed. "You're so naïve to think yourself a match for me."

She lowered her saber and took a few more steps back. "How do you know my name?"

"You know the answer already," he replied softly. His hands went to the hood he wore, and before Rey could yell for him to stop, he pushed it back from his head. She saw the dark hair, the dark eyes, the face that she had grown fond of…

"Ben?" she whispered in disbelief, her saber slipping from her fingers and landing in the snow at her feet.

He glared at her, and his harsh expression gave her a sick feeling in her stomach. It was not the good-natured, admiring look he always gave her. This was something far darker and more hate-filled. "Not Ben," he growled, brandishing his saber at her. "It's Kylo Ren now."

"No," said Rey, refusing to believe it. "This isn't real. You're not the rogue Jedi."

He moved quickly towards her and before she had time to react his hand shot out and grabbed her by the throat. Rey made a choking sound as the gloved fingers wrapped themselves around her and squeezed. Her hands tried to pry him off, but his grip was too strong. He lifted her off the ground and she felt the life being crushed out of her. His red light saber moved close to her face and she could feel the heat emanating from it, burning her cheek.

"Ben…please…" she rasped. She was scared, and the look on his face only added fuel to her fear. There was an insanity in his eyes, like an injured animal. She had never seen that look in anyone's eyes before. In Ben's, in _Kylo Ren's_ , it was like a savage fire just barely being contained.

"Your time is up, Jedi scum," he murmured, and brought the light saber down upon her.

Rey screamed and sat up in bed, shaking as she looked around the empty room. The forest and Kylo Ren were gone, and she was alone in the bedroom on Ben's ship. She touched her cheek. It was no longer burning, although the phantom pain remained. She hugged herself, trying to make the fear go away. Seeing Ben like that, so wild and savage…it was extremely unsettling. And the fact that when faced with him, she froze and was unable to do anything about it just made her feel even weaker. How was she supposed to face off against the rogue when she couldn't even do it in a dream?

 _Because it was Ben,_ a voice in her head reminded her. _You were thrown off. You couldn't have fought back even if you tried._

"Get it together," she told herself aloud in a firm voice. "You've been training for this and that was just a dream. When the real thing happens, you'll be ready."

There was a knock at her door and she jumped. Rey was annoyed at herself for allowing the dream to put her on edge so much. It was just a dream, after all…wasn't it?

"Rey? May I come in?" came Finn's voice from the other side of the door.

"Yes, you may," she replied. She got up from the bed and went over the door to press the button to open it.

Finn smiled and nodded at her as he stepped inside. "Ben wanted me to tell you that we're approaching Dathomir within the hour." His smile faded when he got a closer look at Rey. "Is everything alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," she lied. "Just had a bad dream is all."

He cocked his head thoughtfully. "A bad dream? Are you sure it wasn't a vision?"

Rey felt her insides go cold at the notion. She hadn't considered that. "I—I'm not sure," she answered truthfully. "It couldn't have been a vision. At least, I don't think it could've."

"Tell me what you saw and I'll help you decide," Finn offered. "I am an expert in dreams and visions, after all."

He sat down on a chair in the room while Rey sat back down on the bed and described what she had seen to him. He didn't respond right away when she finished, as he seemed to be processing what she had told him first. Clearly he wanted to be sure before he gave her a definite answer.

"I don't think it was a vision of a future you will live out," he said after a few minutes had passed. "Rather, I think it was a vision of a future that could have been."

Rey gave him a puzzled look. "What do you mean?"

"When we are born, our lives have the potential to go any number of ways. Circumstances and our own choices help propel us around and send us down one path after another. What you saw of Ben in the dream, turning to the Dark Side and becoming this 'Kylo Ren' person, is a possible path he could have taken."

"So…what you're saying is that Ben could have chosen to go to the Dark Side but didn't? And what I saw was the outcome of if he had?"

Finn nodded. "I think so. At least, that's the most likely explanation in my opinion. The Force is strong with you, and that's why I believe that your dreams would likely be visions."

"I had no idea that was a possibility for Ben," Rey mused. "I thought he'd always rejected that lifestyle. At least, that's what Luke and Leia told me."

"Ben has…an interesting past," said Finn. "His grandfather and uncle were two of the most powerful Jedi in history. One gave in to the Dark Side, the other chose the Light. Ben had the choice to go either way, but he chose neither. And perhaps to him, that was the best path he could have taken in life."

This revelation had opened up a whole new side to her companion. She wanted to know more about why he had chosen to reject the Jedi lifestyle completely. Rey supposed it was because of his admiration for his father that led him to become a smuggler and thief. Still, she couldn't help but wonder if there was more to it than that. Perhaps she could ask him later, if they ever had the chance to just sit down and talk.

"Come on," said Finn, rising from the chair. "We'll be arriving soon. We should go join Ben so I can brief both of you on what you're up against."

Ben watched as Dathomir grew larger and larger the closer they got to it. He had a bad feeling about this. The planet had a pinkish red hue to it and was home to all sorts of wild vegetation and creatures. Overrun by swamplands and forests, it was once home to witches called the Nightsisters. Ben fervently hoped that this was no longer the case, as he had no desire to tangle with a witch.

Rey and Finn entered the cockpit, and Finn took his seat in the co-pilot's chair once again. Rey moved to stand behind Ben's chair, and he couldn't stop that warm feeling from taking over him when she did. He glanced back at her and saw she was looking at the approaching planet with apprehension. Her grip on his chair was tight. He could tell she was nervous.

"Relax, sweetheart," he said airily, even though his feelings were pretty similar to hers. "Miles of swamps ain't so bad."

"Somehow I don't believe you," she replied.

"The Nightsisters haven't inhabited this planet in quite some time," said Finn in a low voice. "However, that doesn't mean you're not going to have an easy time of it. You see purple sand? Stay away from it. Red leaves? Stay away from those. You hear something in the forest that sounds like a person coughing? Run as fast as you can in the other direction. Oh, and don't go anywhere near the blue flowers with red thorns."

"Maybe we should just avoid the planet entirely," Ben grumbled.

Rey swallowed hard and inhaled deeply through her nose. "We'll be alright. I have a good feeling about this."

Ben raised his eyebrows and turned to look at her. "Really, sweetheart? Because I'm pretty sure Finn just described a death trap to us. Unless you've got a giant bubble you can project around yourself, I'd be a little more worried than that."

"I can tell you've inherited your father's optimism," quipped Finn.

"It's called practicality," the young smuggler replied. "I think the Jedi could use a little bit more of it in their lessons. Might help them to last a bit longer."

The ship lowered down into what looked like a hangar, or something that had been a hangar at one point. It was overgrown with weeds and, like the area, was doused in fog. Ben did not like the look of it one bit, and every Solo gene in his body was screaming for him to jettison out of there. But he had to do this—for Rey.

Finn continued to warn them about the planet as they disembarked. Despite all the danger, there were some good points about it as well. He detailed what was safe and also some plants that might be useful to them should the opportunity arise. He also gave them some pointers on what sort of area they might find the rogue in.

"Stick close to one another," he advised. "On this planet, there's safety in numbers. And Rey, clear your mind and use your instincts. They're going to come in handy in this kind of place."

Rey embraced him tightly, sad to part so soon from someone she was growing to like so much. "Promise we'll meet again?" she said when they parted.

Finn gave her a warm smile. "I promise. We'll see each other at the celebration of you having defeated the rogue."

He and Ben also shared a brief, one-armed hug. "Are you sure the Resistance will know to find you here?" Ben asked.

"Yeah, I sent out a signal as soon as we landed," he replied. "Poe Dameron is smart. He can find me pretty easy."

Ben and Rey waved good-bye to their friend then set off into the marshy forest. The ground was soft and squished beneath their feet as they walked. Ben was certain that anything with ears would hear them coming a mile off with all the noise they were making. But it couldn't be helped, as pretty much anywhere you stepped was soft and wet. To take his mind off things, he found himself watching Rey as she strode through the forest at his side. He could sense her fear, but her face was set with determination. It made him smile to see her being strong in the face of the imminent threat. She was such a cutie, and he liked the graceful way she moved.

"I'm scared," she admitted to him as they walked.

"I'd be concerned if you weren't," Ben replied.

"Luke always told me that the first step to overcoming your fear is admitting you're afraid," Rey continued. "The more you deny it, the more it agitates you until you're consumed by it."

Ben almost laid a hand on her shoulder, but retracted it. He couldn't keep allowing himself to be so tender around her. It was only going to exacerbate his feelings for her. "It's okay to be scared," he assured her. "That's what my father always told me. He said it's a natural part of life and a sign of self-preservation that all humans have."

"I know. Sometimes I wish I wasn't so afraid of things, but I know I can't help it. I can only use that fear to push me along and help me get stronger."

He smiled. "You keep surprising me, Rey. One minute I think I have you figured out, the next you reveal a new side to yourself and throw me off again."

His comment brought a smile to her lips as well. "Good. I like throwing you off."

"Better be careful or I might start falling for you."

She snorted. "Yeah, like that'll ever happen."

Ben opened his mouth to make a witty retort, but as he did he noticed the purple sand right in front of Rey. He acted quickly and grabbed her by the waist, pulling her back to him and away from the sand. For a moment they didn't say anything and just stared down at the treacherous purple ground, breathing hard at the close call.

"Ben?"

"Yeah?"

"You can let go of me now."

Ben looked down and realized that he was still holding her tightly to him while they stood there staring. He quickly released her, but she didn't back away from him like he thought she would. She remained close to him, looking down at the sand and not meeting his eye.

"Thank you," she added after a few more moments of silence. "That was a close one."

"No problem, sweetheart. I do need you to face that rogue so I can't have you sinking into any sand now."

She looked up at him, smiling and making his heart melt a little bit. "You're right. You'd be useless without me."

Ben slid his arm around her shoulders and guided her around the purple sand pit. "Keep telling yourself that. Maybe someday it'll actually be true."

They continued on through the forest, which quickly turned into more of a swamp. Their feet began to sink into the mud, making disgusting sucking noises every time they took a step. This made their trek much slower and more labored. Both fell a few times and were soon covered in mud and swamp grime. Still, they continued on, hoping their destination was not far off.

"If only he'd chosen a nicer planet to hide out on," Ben groaned as he pried his foot free from the thick mud only to push it back down into more mud as he moved forward.

"That would have been lovely of him," Rey agreed. Her foot got caught and she fell forward again onto the mud, splattering it everywhere. Ben took her by the elbow and helped her up. "Thanks. I'm really going to need a bath after this."

"I could join you in that, if you'd like."

"Don't make me shove some of this mud in your face, Solo."

He grinned. "Just joking. Mostly."

Their journey took most of the day, and the sky was beginning to get darker when they finally made it to an area where the ground was firm and their feet no longer sank. Both were grateful for the change, as their legs were tired from all the effort. Rey sank down onto a fallen tree while Ben consulted his multi-purpose device.

"I'm not detecting any heat signatures within our area," he informed her. "Which means that even after all the walking we just did, we're no closer to finding him than we were at the start."

"He'll turn up," said Rey as she massaged her calves. "No doubt he'll sense us and come to investigate."

Ben sat down beside her on the tree. "Shouldn't we be stealthier about this?" he asked. "I thought the plan was to take him by surprise so he'd be easier to capture."

"That was the plan, yeah. Now though, I've decided I want to face him head on. I want to just confront him outright instead of playing a game of cat and mouse."

"You think you can handle that?"

Rey turned to look at him, and her closeness reminded Ben of what had transpired between them. Her kiss was something he knew he would never forget, and it was so difficult being that close to her again knowing she probably didn't remember it at all. A kiss that hadn't been real, but was all he could think about.

 _You can't have her, Ben_ , said that annoying voice of reason in his mind. _This can't happen_.

"You're underestimating me again, aren't you?" she accused, pursing her lips at him in annoyance.

"I just want you to be sure you know what you're doing before you face him," Ben replied evenly. "You go against him brazenly, you could end up like those fallen padawans."

Rey looked down at her knees. "I know. But Finn told me to use my instincts here, so that's what I'm doing. My instincts are telling me to stand up and face him, not hide."

"Well, I can't say I like that idea. If that's what you want to do though, I'll back you up on it."

She gave him a grateful look. "Thank you, Ben. For doing this with me when I know it's not what you want."

He shrugged. "My only alternative is facing the wrath of my mother. And trust me, sweetheart, this is preferable."

Rey laughed then got to her feet and stretched. "I suppose we should make some sort of camp for the night. I have blankets to lay on and some food in my pack."

Ben pulled a square metal device from his pack and set it on the ground. "This will keep us warm so we don't have to build a fire. I can take the first watch while you get some rest."

"That'd be wonderful, thank you."

He watched as she set up her blanket on the ground then laid down on it. She closed her eyes, but then opened them again suddenly after just a couple minutes.

"Ben?"

"Yes, Rey?"

She paused a moment before asking "Did I kiss you when I was drunk?"

Ben felt his heartbeat pick up at the question, but kept his mood casual. No need letting her know what effect the kiss really had on him. "Yeah, you did."

Rey brought a hand to her face and he could tell she was very embarrassed at this revelation. "I am so sorry," she mumbled from behind her hand. "I don't know what came over me."

"Hey, don't worry about it," he replied. Normally, he would use this as an opportunity to flirt, to make her even more embarrassed, but he didn't. Ben knew that he wanted her in all the ways he shouldn't and it was driving him mad holding himself back like this. However, he had made up his mind about that already. A relationship with her was just not possible, no matter how much he wanted it.

There was silence between them, and for a while he thought she'd fallen asleep. Then—

"Did you enjoy the kiss?"

Ben cleared his throat. "What kind of a question is that?"

She shrugged. "Just curious about it. I've never kissed anyone before and I only vaguely remember doing it. So I want to know how I did."

Her reasoning made him chuckle. "Let me put it this way, sweetheart: It was good enough that I wanted another."

"Do you?"

The question hung in the air between them. Ben looked down at her, which was a mistake because with her big brown eyes studying him expectantly and her long hair framing her face so nicely, she looked so tempting. Even covered in mud, he wanted to hold her to him, kiss her once more and show her how he felt about her.

Scoundrel though he was, Ben was a good man. Good enough to spare Rey of being torn between two lives: A life as a Jedi master like she wanted, or a life with him. So, he did what he did best: He lied.

"Nah, I'm good, sweetheart. Get some sleep, we've got a lot more walking to do tomorrow."

Rey looked disappointed at his answer, and it actually stung a bit when she mumbled a "Goodnight" then turned around to lay down facing away from him. It got him wondering if maybe a relationship would be possible after all. If he spoke with Luke, would he allow it? Could they break Jedi tradition this one time so that they could be together?

 _Get your head out of the clouds and focus,_ Solo, said the voice of reasoning in his head. _Find the Jedi first, worry about all this romance stuff later._

Ben nodded. He was allowing himself to get distracted when he couldn't afford to do so at this time. They would finish their mission first and after that—well, after that he had a very big decision to make.


	8. Chapter 8

When Rey slept that night, she had another dream. This one, however, was much nicer than her unsettling vision of Ben. She was at a house by a lake, a gorgeous house she had never seen before but loved instantly. It had high ceilings with carvings on its pillars and was covered with long, leafy vines. The area that surrounded it was grassy and beautiful. Surely such a place could not really exist, Rey reasoned as she stood on a balcony overlooking the wide blue lake.

"Lovely view, wouldn't you agree?" said a voice behind her.

Rey jumped and turned to see an elegant woman walking out onto the balcony. She wore a yellow dress and had brown curly hair that fell about her shoulders. There was a floral band across her forehead and she had part of her hair in two buns covered by yellow fabric on either side of her head. Rey had never seen someone so lovely before, but she couldn't help but feel that the woman looked very familiar.

"Who are you?" she asked, stunned by the woman's sudden appearance and her beauty.

The lady smiled, but it was a kind one. "My name is Padme. I live here," she replied simply. Her voice was very gentle and nice to listen to.

Rey immediately felt rude about her blunt question. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to intrude I—I don't know what I'm doing here."

"That's alright, I do," said Padme. "You're having a dream."

"How do you know that?" Rey asked slowly.

Padme's smile widened. "My husband is a Jedi too. He used to tell me that his dreams always had truth to them. So, the same goes for you as well."

"I don't understand," said Rey, feeling confused at the answer she received.

The older woman considered her for a moment before replying "Do you know who I am?"

Rey looked hard at her, trying to place her. "I'll admit, I don't. But I feel like we've met before."

"We haven't," Padme admitted, looking a little sad. "I died before you were even born."

"Are you—you're a ghost?"

"Yes, I suppose you could call me that." Padme's smile faded completely, and Rey could tell what would follow was going to be difficult for her to talk about. "After I died, I continued to watch over those I loved. It was heartbreaking and sometimes I couldn't bear to see it all happen. But now my children are happy, and I was reunited with my love in death. I even have grandchildren now. My grandson in particular is the reason I'm here speaking with you."

"Your grandson?" Rey repeated. It was strange hearing the woman say that she had a grandchild, as she didn't look to be much older than Rey was.

Padme nodded. "You know him, and my children."

It finally dawned on her. "Ben," she said. "You're his grandmother. And Luke and Leia—you're their mother?"

"Yes, I am. My full name is Padme Amidala. In life, I was married to Anakin Skywalker."

Rey brought a hand to her mouth. "Oh my—wow, it's so wonderful to meet you."

Padme smiled and took Rey's hands into her own. "You as well. I've been hoping to reach out to you for a while now, and tonight I've finally succeeded." She put a hand on the young Jedi's cheek and sighed. "You're so beautiful. Ben is very lucky indeed."

"Oh that's not—I mean, we're not—" Rey was stumbling over words, flustered by both the revelation and the embarrassment from her relationship with Ben.

The elegant woman chuckled. "Forgive me, I shouldn't have assumed. Rey, I know you have much to do ahead of you, but could I ask you to do something for me?"

"Of course, anything," she replied instantly. Padme was such a kind person and she'd heard so much about her that it was easy to want to help her.

Padme's grip on her hands tightened slightly. "Please be there for Ben. I've been worried about him for a while. He left home so early on, and hasn't had much to do with his family since then. Because of that, I fear he may be in danger of falling to the Dark Side."

Rey frowned. "Ben? Fall to the Dark Side? I think he'll be alright. I mean, he gave up that part of his life long ago, didn't he?"

She shook her head. "The Dark Side unfortunately doesn't give up on those who possess the Force. He could go his entire life and still have that threat looming over him."

"But what can I do?" asked Rey. "I'm just one girl, and there's already a lot riding on me already. How can I help him?"

"You'll know," said Padme. "The more time you spend with him, the clearer it will become. I can't tell you now, but I can assure you that you will be able to do it."

The dream began to fade away. Rey tried to focus hard and stop it from leaving her, but in mere seconds the entire lake scene and Padme were gone. Left in the dark and with her mind alert, Rey opened her eyes. She was aware of a hand on her shoulder, and looked up to see Ben kneeling beside her.

"Your turn to take the watch," he informed her.

Rey blinked wearily and looked around. It was still dark, and the crickets in the surrounding forest chirped loudly. "What time is it?" she asked through a yawn.

"Just a little after midnight. Not much going on, unless you enjoy watching snail races."

She sat up and stretched. "Alright, you get some sleep. I got this."

Ben examined her face. "You sure, sweetheart? I can give you another hour if you need it."

"I'm fine," she replied firmly. "Get some sleep, Ben."

As he had said, there was not much going on in the forest on Dathomir. Rey instead took to her thoughts to keep her alert. She pondered the dream, Padme's words, Ben, the task ahead.

It almost made her want to scream, how much other people seemed to be relying on her lately. First with Luke, wanting her to take on this quest. The entire galaxy's fate depended on her succeeding, so no pressure there.

Then there were Ben's expectations of her, whether he voiced them or not. He would be looking to her soon for guidance on what was to be done, as he said he would. Plus her feelings for him were weighing heavy on her heart, since she wasn't sure what to do about them. And now Padme wanting…whatever it was she was meant to do for Ben. It was just too much, and she felt like she'd break under the pressure.

Rey pressed the heel of her palm into her forehead. Her head was starting to ache from all the thoughts and feelings fighting for dominance inside her. Perhaps she should have taken up Ben's offer of letting her sleep another hour. But after the dream or vision or whatever it was that she had, she wasn't sure if she would be able to sleep again for a while.

The night dragged on, and Rey kept herself amused by levitating some stones and trying to build a tower with them. It was a game she used to play with the other padawans back at the temple on Endor. They would use their power to move the stones and see who could build the highest tower. If you had enough concentration, you could hold your tower with the Force while adding more rocks to it. Rey had yet to lose to anyone at this game as she had a particular knack for it. Now though, her jumbled emotions were making the tower continuously teeter over and the rocks crash to the ground.

Frustrated, Rey began sending the rocks through the tree branches instead of stacking them. She tested how high she could send them before they would come crashing back down. It could be a helpful defensive move should their camp get attacked suddenly. She hoped that wouldn't be the case. In the heat of battle, her aim might not be as good.

The sky was starting to lighten a little bit when Rey heard the whispering. It seemed to be coming from somewhere in the forest, and made her skin crawl when she heard it. At first, she decided to stay put and wait for it to go away. After all, there could be someone living on the planet in secret. Someone who did not want to be found. She considered waking Ben to see what he thought about it and maybe talk him into moving their camp farther away from the forest. Her hand was inches from his shoulder when she heard a whisper that made her freeze.

" _Rey_ ," the disembodied voice called out.

She sat up slowly, turning towards the forest to see if she could spot who had spoken to her. It sounded so close, perhaps it wouldn't hurt to just go have a quick look…

Rey looked down at Ben sleeping soundly with his head on his jacket. If he were awake, what would he say? He'd probably tell her she was imagining things and offer to let her sleep beside him if she was so scared. She rolled her eyes. Yes, that would be the most likely reaction.

" _Rey_ ," the voice coaxed again.

It couldn't be ignored. Rey felt compelled to go look. Despite her better judgement and not wanting to leave Ben, she grabbed the light saber from her bag and got to her feet. Just a quick investigation and she'd be back before Ben woke up.

Clutching the saber in her hand and with a wildly beating heart, Rey took off into the forest. Initially she planned on just stepping through the trees and looking around quickly, but the voice continued to call for her and drew her farther in. She didn't know why she was following it, as every atom in her body seemed to be screaming for her to stop. But still, she walked on.

She began to worry about finding her way back the farther in she went. She couldn't stop yet though, not until the voice relented. Rey's throat felt dry and there were beads of perspiration on her forehead. She was scared of where the voice might be leading her.

After what felt like an eternity of nervous trekking through the forest, Rey stumbled into a clearing that was bathed in the last light of the moon as it began to set for the night. And as she looked around, her heart nearly stopped when she saw there was someone standing across the clearing from her. Someone who was tall and had a hooded cloak on.

Reflexively, Rey drew her saber. She didn't know who the person was, but if they were hostile then she wasn't ready to let them think she was defenseless.

"I've been expecting you, Rey," the voice said, and it was then she realized it was coming from the hooded figure. "I knew you'd find me."

Rey took a stance, bracing herself for a sudden attack if it were to happen. "Who are you?" she demanded. Her voice wasn't as strong or intimidating as she would have liked so it was no surprise when the stranger laughed at her.

"I think you know," he replied. Reaching up, he pushed the hood back to reveal the face of a gaunt young man. He had dark eyes that were chilling to look at and an unsavory aura about him. His shaved head had markings that Rey could not read tattooed on either side of it.

After examining him for a long while, it finally dawned on her. "Zenneck?" she whispered, not believing it to be true.

"You remember me after all," he mused, taking a few steps towards her.

Rey was reeling from the revelation. Zenneck had been a padawan with her at the temple not too many years ago. From what she had seen of him, he seemed to be a sweet boy. At least, whenever he encountered Rey he was. Beyond that, Rey didn't see anything wrong with him. But for some reason, he vanished from the temple one day and never returned. They searched Endor for him but he was nowhere to be found. So eventually, the search was given up.

"What happened to you?" she asked. "Why are you here?"

Zenneck sighed. "Looks like Luke didn't tell you then. Typical of him to keep valuable information from those he claims to care about."

Then Rey sensed it. The darkness inside of the young man before her. The pain and suffering in his heart that was pulling him away from the light. And then she realized who he really was.

"You seem surprised," Zenneck noted as Rey's hand tightened on the saber. "Who did you think the rogue was going to be? Someone you had never met before? All the Jedi left in existence are on Endor. Who else could I be but one of Luke's former students?"

"I didn't think it would be you," she replied in a low voice. "You didn't seem like someone who would fall to the Dark Side."

"Oh Rey," said Zenneck, shaking his head at her. "You haven't changed at all. You're still that naïve little girl who thinks that just because people smile, everything is okay on the inside."

"I don't think that," she defended. "And if everything wasn't alright, you should have gone to Luke. There is so much you could have done instead of doing the wrong thing."

He narrowed his eyes at her. "You think going to the Dark Side is wrong? Tell me, Rey, when was the last time your heart wanted something that the Jedi Order told you was wrong?"

Ben immediately came to mind but she pushed that thought away quickly. "The Dark Side leads to only suffering," she insisted. "You may justify that what they're offering is right, but power isn't going to solve any of your problems."

There was a flash of red as Zenneck activated his light saber. "What the hell do you know about it?" he bellowed at her. "You've been a good little girl your whole life. You have no idea what suffering even is!"

"Don't act like you have me all figured out either," Rey snapped, activating her own saber. "I may not understand completely, but I know what's right and what's wrong. Either way, I'm taking you back so you can pay for what you did to those Jedi."

He sneered at her. "I've always thought you were pretty, Rey. Too bad you don't have both brains and beauty."

Rey wasn't sure who moved first, but in almost an instant the blue and red sabers met in a flash of light that continued with each strike. All fear and anxiety left Rey as she fought. The only thing on her mind now was staying alive. She used everything she had ever been taught in the fight, such as when to strike, when to dodge, and how to tell what your opponent's next move was going to be.

Zenneck was relentless with his blows. Rey found herself blocking them more than getting her own chances to strike. He seemed to have become unhinged at the end of their conversation and was now hell bent on hurting her. Their fight spanned the entire clearing, almost entering the trees a few times. One tree lost its branch as Rey ducked one of Zenneck's blows and his red saber sliced through the tree limb instead.

"We don't have to fight," Rey tried reasoning with him when she felt herself growing tired from the constant barrage of strikes from her opponent. "It's not too late for you. I can take you back to Luke and he can help you fix this."

The rogue's eyes were wild as he responded with more blows that Rey dodged and blocked. "It is too late, Rey," he growled back at her. "I'm never going back. I don't want to."

Rey's foot caught on a root and made her stumble. It was enough of a distraction for Zenneck to get her across the side of her torso with his saber. Rey screamed as she felt the saber burn her flesh and she fell hard to the ground. She expected Zenneck to finish her while she was down, but he didn't. She lifted herself slowly onto her knees to look up at him and see what was keeping him.

He was looking at her, no longer in rage but calmly as he had before their fight. "I don't want to kill you, Rey," he mused as he looked down at her injured form at his feet. "I always had an admiration for you back at the academy. I suppose you could call it a crush even. That's why I'm going to show you mercy."

"I don't want your mercy," Rey groaned, the pain making her want to lash out at him in anger.

Zenneck crouched down beside her and put his hand on her chin. Not in a loving way, but rough, grabbing it and forcing her to look at him. "I'm giving you the choice I never had, Rey," he whispered. His hand slid into her hair, wrapping it around his fingers. When she tried to move out of his grasp, he tightened his grip on her hair until it hurt when she moved. "You don't understand what a gift this is. You have the opportunity to fight for a noble cause at my side. That, or die a horrific death. The choice should be an easy one for you."

"I don't want any part of that," she replied. "And I don't want you touching me so get your hands off!"

She swung her saber at him, but he dodged. Then he lifted his hand and struck her across the face so hard that she hit the ground once again. Now her cheek burned along with her side. Still, she found the strength to lift herself back up again.

"Magnificent," Zenneck mused as he watched her struggle to get up again. "Such power inside of you. Imagine how much stronger you'll be when you embrace the darkness."

Rey's eyes met his and she glared up at him. "I'll never join the Dark Side. And I'll die before I ever let you have me."

The animalistic rage returned to Zenneck's face when he heard her reply. He got to his feet and held the saber close to her head. "Maybe I won't kill you after all," he said. "But I am going to hurt you…very badly."

There was a searing pain inside Rey's head, so intense that she closed her eyes and held her hands against it. It was like the worst headache she had ever had times ten. And the pain was not just in one spot, but all over her head. She thought she heard someone screaming, but couldn't decide if it was in her head or if they were her own screams. She could hear laughing too; Zenneck's laughter. Clearly whatever mind torture he was inflicting on her, he was enjoying it immensely.

It felt like an eternity that the pain continued, but suddenly it went away and Zenneck's laughter stopped. When Rey wearily opened her eyes, Zenneck was no longer standing in front of her but lying against a tree several feet away. Confused, Rey looked around to see what might have sent him sailing off.

"I fall asleep for a couple of hours and you start the party without me," she heard a voice behind her say. A familiar voice that filled her with the greatest relief to hear. "Gotta have all the fun to yourself, don't you sweetheart?"

"Ben," she rasped, her voice weak from all the screaming she had just done.

He jogged over to her and quickly knelt down beside her. "You alright, Rey?" he asked, his tone now serious.

Rey felt like she could barely keep her eyes open after the attack she'd just endured. That coupled with her other injuries, she wanted to just collapse to the ground and not move for a while.

"Mm," was all she could manage to reply.

Ben took her face into his hands, running a thumb gently over the red spot on her cheek. "Damn it, what did he do to you?"

The rogue was now on his feet again and had used the Force to pull the light saber back into his hand. He activated it again and faced Ben.

"It should have been you, Solo!" he roared at him. "It should have been you!"

Ben stood and turned to face Zenneck. Rey wondered what he meant by that, but Ben seemed to understand what he was talking about.

"Yeah, but I guess I wasn't enough of an idiot," he called back. "Looks like they found an even bigger idiot to replace me."

Zenneck tried to charge Ben, but he thrust his hand out and the Force he omitted sent the rogue flying backwards once more. This time he went into the branches of the tree and hit a bunch of them as he fell before finally reaching the ground. After he hit it, he did not move again.

Ben turned his attention to Rey again. "Come on, sweetheart, help is on the way. Can you walk?"

"Zenneck," she mumbled, still out of it. "We have to capture him."

"You're right," Ben agreed, although she could hear the reluctance in his voice. "Okay, I'll go get the bonds I have in my pack and then—"

He was cut off by a sudden hail of fire from a ship that appeared from behind the trees. One shot got him in the shoulder and Rey got one in the leg before he grabbed the light saber from beside Rey and activated it. Ben began to block the shots with the light saber while the ship landed before them in the clearing. Two Stormtroopers exited the craft after it landed and headed towards the fallen Rogue. While Ben was busy deflecting the gunfire, they picked Zenneck up and carried him quickly back into the craft.

Ben cursed as the ship lifted from the ground and then took off. That meant they were now back to square one in terms of finding the Rogue again. But at least now they knew who he was.

Rey moaned and Ben scooped her up off the ground and into his arms. "Hang in there, sweetheart," he encouraged as he carried her back towards their camp site. "Help is on the way."

"I failed," Rey said weakly. "I didn't get him."

"You did great," Ben assured her as they went. "Clearly you held your own against him until he hurt you."

She shook her head, fading in and out of consciousness. "He got away."

"We'll get him, I promise you that," said Ben.

Rey leaned her still pounding head against his chest. She could feel his heartbeat racing in there. It was comforting to her, being so close to him. She closed her eyes again. "Ben," she murmured against his shirt. "Don't let me go."

"I won't, sweetheart," he replied, and she felt his hand stroke her hair comfortingly. "I'm here for you."

"Thank you," she said, and then she lost consciousness completely.


End file.
